Connection
by Tyytyys Yaoi
Summary: Everyone has their own personal preferences-that goes especially for both Kawaki and Boruto. They can't help what they like, but they both have friends that are determined to help them see potential lovers for what they could be. A series of literally blind dates-a challenge-the two of them could fail miserably, or possibly find a true connection without appearances being a factor.
1. The First Date

**Connection**

_Sometimes you need to look past what's on the outside to really see someone._

**Chapter One**

The First Date

* * *

Boruto sat alone in the smoothie house, regretting his decision to come there in the first place. It was ridiculous really, more like a dare than anything else. Whatever it was though, it was all Shikadai's fault. After the latest of many failed relationships, he had forced Boruto into a corner, calling him on his shit and getting tired of hearing him complain. It wasn't like he was trying to break up in less than a month. Things just turned out that way.

He would see someone that fit his preferred body type and then get it on like no tomorrow. He had a knack for finding men that were compatible with his sex drive, but once they opened their mouths everything was ruined. He wanted a cocky as fuck, sexy as fuck guy that could handle him. What he kept getting were arrogant assholes that either wanted to 'change him for the better' or boss him around as if he didn't have a mind to think on his own.

That's what happened when you went for the tall, muscular and dominant kind of fellow. Good in bed, but a personality that made him want to punch their lights out. His luck was nonexistent and he couldn't understand why it always ended badly. That was until Shikadai was more than happy to explain. Apparently, he was obsessed with physical appearance, not giving the actual nice guys the time of day. He didn't bother getting to know them and went straight into bed with them.

While it was true the tiniest, smallest bit, Boruto wasn't interested in a 'nice guy'. He wanted the bad boy with a soft spot only for him. He wanted someone he could let his guard down around and be the spoiled boyfriend that he had locked up inside. A protector that would treat him like he was something special, someone he wanted to come home to. And fuck. Fucking was important.

Long story short, Shikadai told him he wouldn't last trying for a real relationship. Of course Boruto took offense to that, telling the bastard that he would go to hell and back to find the man for him. Thus leading to his current predicament. Boruto wasn't allowed to so much as kiss the guy he was going on this date with and he didn't even know who it was. He had been pushed into a blind date, literally. He was fucking blindfolded and he couldn't take it off, sitting in some private booth waiting to meet some stranger.

What if he wasn't his type? What if he was the complete opposite and totally not fuckable? The only thing he knew was what to call his so-called date: K. Shikadai was really going all out to prove his point, giving Boruto no information at all. It wasn't going to work out and he was going to end up with some short office guy. He was regretting agreeing to this, but there was no way in hell he was going to back down.

…

This would be the first date Kawaki had ever been on in his life. He never tried to date, ever. It was annoying, too much of a bother for him when he could just get a piece of ass when he wanted it and go about his business. He never really wanted a relationship and he didn't mind being alone, but his best friend Iwabe seemed to think it was a problem.

Iwabe was adamant, arguing Kawaki down about his trust issues and all of his other problems. He wasn't one to give in or one to do anything he didn't want to do, but he'd be damned if Iwabe was going to think he _couldn't _do something. He wanted to bet everything that Kawaki couldn't take on this challenge Iwabe and his friend had come up with, and Kawaki wouldn't refuse even if it killed him.

Whoever he was being set up with was probably fucking hideous and worse, a pain in the ass to be around. Just the thought of having to talk to them for more than a couple minutes was repulsing. Kawaki had a type and preferences for what he sought in a guy, he had to look the part and act it, but talking was never involved. Now that was all he had.

He wouldn't be able to look at this guy and he knew nothing at all about him. He was probably some slob who didn't take care of himself at all—a total turn off for Kawaki. He wanted someone clean and fit _and small. _He wanted someone who turned him on just by the way they looked, and by the way they took him. It was hard enough to find the right guy to fuck, but just thinking of finding one he could actually enjoy a date with was giving him a headache.

Iwabe rattled on about rules after Kawaki agreed to the challenge. He couldn't ask the guy anything about his looks and he couldn't ask for his name either. He was told to call him B and nothing more. Iwabe was too cheeky when they arrived outside of the smoothie shop and he tied the blindfold around Kawaki's eyes. He told him to play nice and enjoy himself and though he didn't know how that would go, Kawaki would try to be on his best behavior.

He was helped inside by his annoying friend and led to a booth. Iwabe had already said his goodbyes, explaining that B was already waiting at the table. Once Kawaki sat down and heard Iwabe take his leave, he sighed. This was going to be the most awkward day of his life. And what was worst of all, he was supposed to make it not through just this one date, but a series of them with this guy.

"Well, you sound as enthused as I feel." B mused, his voice more feminine than Kawaki thought it would be. "I guess you're K, right?"

"Apparently." Kawaki breathed, finding himself curious about the voice across from him. He sounded young. "And you're B."

"Y-Yeah." He stammered before clearing his throat, taken aback by the deep voice. "So . . . how'd you end up in this situation?"

"All because my friend suspects that I can't date just because I prefer not to." Kawaki admitted honestly as he laid his arms on the table. "What about you?"

"Same, kind of. My friend thinks I'm shallow and can't date because I'm interested in the wrong things." He said, crossing his arms. "He'll be eating his words when I show his ass I can make it through these dates."

Kawaki chuckled at that. "At least we're both determined to see this through." He said, fairly certain he would make it if the guy was trying to cooperate.

"Yeah, we'll show them both." B said confidently. "But I gotta say, this location is random as hell. And no one has come over to ask if I wanted anything yet." He huffed.

"Well, that's bullshit. Not that I would know what to ask for. I've never had a smoothie before. Is that something you like?" Kawaki asked thoughtfully, finding himself amused at the guy's personality.

"I love them." B confessed, getting a little excited. "I don't have much of a sweet tooth, but if it's dairy then I need it in my life. You really never had one before? Do you wanna try one or are they not your thing?"

"If they're sweet, I'll have a taste. I actually love sweet shit. On occasion." Kawaki smiled to himself.

B smiled as well, finding the little fact interesting. "In that case, let's get some service over here. Excuse me, I'd like a smoothie!"

Kawaki swallowed a laugh and rested his cheek in his hand as he waited for a server to come over. They were probably too afraid to come to a table where a couple blindfolded guys were sitting.

"Order me something with strawberries." He told his date, considering he didn't know what they had.

"Alright." B agreed without so much as a second thought. He went with a mix of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry all together and ordered the same for Kawaki. With strawberries on top of course. "There, that wasn't so hard. I don't understand why no one approached me sooner."

"Me either, shit." Kawaki smirked as if the reason wasn't obvious. "I hope the next place is somewhere with better service."

B was surprised that he was actually looking forward to the next meeting. "Me too. It's not like I'm scary or anything, there shouldn't be a problem."

It wouldn't be hard-pressed of Kawaki to assume his date was blond as fuck, and he did. "The blindfolds are probably a bit curious. Whoever can see us are more than likely too busy trying to figure out what we're up to, to worry about serving us."

"Ah . . ." B hadn't thought about that. "Well . . . it's none of their business."

Kawaki hummed in agreement just as the server returned with their smoothies, setting them on the table and then excusing themselves. At least it hadn't taken long to get their order, but finding it without tipping it over wasn't going to be easy.

B was thinking along the same line. "Time to play where the fuck is the cup."

"Hell yeah. Without knocking it over." Kawaki grinned.

"You sound like you're enjoying this." B observed with a growing smile. "It won't be as fun when I knock yours over."

"You better not. At least let me get a taste of it first." He said as he felt around in front of him for his cup, his date doing the same. Kawaki's hand found B's instead of his cup and he felt it in wonder. It was small. This guy had to be small. Maybe he was in luck.

B was frozen still as the much larger hand swept over his own, having no problem with getting handsy. "I think this might count as cheating, just a little . . . but I won't say anything if you won't."

"Cheating?" Kawaki scoffed. "Nobody said I couldn't touch you. Shit. Go ahead and forget that rule."

Kawaki's personality was getting better and better, there was no way he was an office guy. "Consider it forgotten." B giggled and threaded their fingers together.

"How old are you?" Kawaki asked, needing to make sure he wasn't robbing a cradle.

"I'm twenty-six. And you?" B asked, needing to make sure his mature voice didn't mean aged considerably.

"Twenty-eight." He answered, slightly surprised at B's age. "I'm so curious . . ."

"About?" B questioned, having a good idea already along with the same curiosity.

"What you look like. At least you sound cute as fuck so I can imagine."

B blushed at the compliment, no one had ever said that about his voice before. "I want to know too. What the man with the sexy voice looks like."

Kawaki chuckled yet again, rather enjoying his time with B. "You couldn't handle it."

"Neither could you." B countered, biting his lip. This was going to be a lot harder than he thought.

Locating one of the smoothies with his free hand, Kawaki moved B's hand to it before pulling his hand away to find his own. "We will find out soon enough. First, I have to taste this." He said before raising the cup and closing his mouth around the straw. It was much better than he anticipated. "Damn, it's good."

"Right?" B said cheekily, pulling his cup closer to him. He leaned down to take the straw between his lips but ended up poking himself in the cheek. "Ow. These blindfolds are really getting on my nerves."

"Missed your mouth?" Kawaki asked teasingly.

"It's hard to aim when you can't see shit." B complained and tried again, this time using his other hand to guide the straw. "Hmm. Much better."

"You got it?" He asked, amused. "I thought I was going to have to help you."

B felt a tingle run down his spine. "Now you tell me. I need to know these things sooner, K."

"My bad, I wasn't thinking." Kawaki hummed. "Now you know, I don't need to see to find your mouth."

"Fuck." B breathed, not noticing he said it out loud. "That's a great skill to have."

"Mm. Just one of many."

B wanted to know them all. "I'm listening."

…

The date had done a lot better than Boruto thought it would have. They talked and flirted for a while longer until their friends came to collect them. He tried to play it off in front of Shikadai and K's friend, but he was in a really good mood. He would never admit it, but this whole thing with K looked promising. The man was easy to talk to and his voice was deeper than the ocean, _fuck_. He had never heard anything so sensual.

Then there were those big hands of his. It didn't take too much imagination for Boruto to picture those hands running all over his body. If only he could see K, find out if he was his type. Of course he hoped that was the case, but he couldn't be a hundred percent sure. Large hands didn't mean he was tall and a voice that could make Boruto melt didn't mean he was hot. That was the only frustrating part. He needed to know what K looked like, it would seriously be a damn shame if he was ugly.

Shikadai tried to grill him in the car about how it went, but the only thing he was concerned about was taking off the blindfold. "Is this shit really necessary?" Boruto whined once he was allowed to get rid of it.

"What do you mean is it necessary? It's the whole point, Boruto." Shikadai told him, eyes fixed on the road. "Why do you sound so annoyed, huh? Did it go that well?"

"No." He quickly lied. "The service was horrible and I couldn't see to pick up my smoothies and K was tricked into the whole thing just like I was."

Shikadai laughed. "Uh huh, that's not what I was after though. How was it with K? You like him?"

Boruto shrugged, not wanting to give anything away. "He's alright. Not boring at least."

"That's good." He said simply.

Truth be told, Boruto wanted to do some grilling himself. He wanted his friend to tell him if K was as sexy as he seemed, but he knew he wouldn't. If Boruto so much as looked like he was going to ask about his physical appearance then Shikadai would go on a rant about how he hadn't even made it past date one. That couldn't be allowed to happen and he would just have to endure. After Shikadai dropped him off at his flat, he went upstairs and flopped on the couch.

He tucked his hand to his chest with a small smile on his face. He could still feel it, K's hand holding his own. It really had gone well and K was so interesting too, Boruto found himself wanting to know more about the faceless man. It was funny . . . Boruto had never anticipated a second date with anyone . . . why was this so different? He thought about it, but couldn't put his finger on the reason. Maybe it was because he was eager to get through the dates and onto the good part. Fucking.

…

The only thing Kawaki had concluded after his date with B was that he _had _to be cute. His soft voice and the way he spoke were adorable, leaving Kawaki smiling throughout the entire ordeal. He'd never given anyone this chance before, so maybe it was just nice to talk to someone and the situation was just ridiculous anyway. He did have a good time though and he was looking forward to date number two.

If only Iwabe wouldn't ride his ass about it.

"You telling me you actually _talked_?" Iwabe was shocked, blinking at his best friend who was busy making himself a drink.

"The whole time. I'm more than capable of talking, I just don't." Kawaki told him, giving him an unimpressed look.

Iwabe rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Or maybe it was just that you liked B."

"How would I do that without seeing him? I talked because I can and you need to realize it."

"I'm not willing to believe it." Iwabe grumbled. "That you could sit there and not bark orders or fuck a guy you were around for _that _long."

"Well believe it. There were no orders and no fucking." Kawaki retorted and then had a sip of his drink. "When's the next date so I can not order or fuck him again?"

"Not sure, haven't figured it out yet."

"Well, I can't wait." Kawaki grinned, glad he'd agreed to this challenge after all. No matter what, he would not fail.

B was entertaining at least and even if somehow he wasn't cute, Kawaki could pretend. It was up to his imagination after all and he knew he'd be able to see to each and every one of the twenty dates. This was going to be a fun challenge for him indeed.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Hello dear readers!**

**So excited to be sharing one of many collaborative kawaboru stories that I've co-written with Kaname84 (there are others on their profile that you may check out if you wish!)**

**We hope you guys will enjoy this story as much as we love writing it.**

**Please leave us a review and tell us what you think, we'd appreciate it so much.**

**Thanks for reading _Connection_!**


	2. Painting Blind

**Connection**

_Sometimes you need to look past what's on the outside to really see someone._

**Chapter Two**

Painting Blind

* * *

Date number two was at Iwabe's friends place who was helping coordinate the whole challenge. They'd gone all out setting up a room for the pair where they would be sipping wine and trying to paint without seeing a thing. Kawaki thought it would be funny if nothing else, he couldn't paint for shit, or he'd never tried to anyway, but he was excited to give it a try. He did like drawing sometimes but this was completely different.

As soon as they arrived, Iwabe blindfolded Kawaki and led him inside, explaining that B should have already been there. He talked to his friend on the ride over, to make sure there were no accidental viewings. The walk seemed long to get inside as well as the room he was taken to and then he was sat down by Iwabe.

"When B gets in here, we'll help get you two situated so you at least have a chance of painting something." Iwabe teased and Kawaki nodded, keeping his mouth shut. He was ready to get the date started because honestly, he'd been looking forward to it. It was interesting. B was interesting.

Before long B was brought inside and sat across the table from him and then Iwabe and Shikadai went about explaining where everything was and helping them get a feel for what they needed. They were given full glasses of wine and then left alone to get started and Kawaki heard his date shifting in his seat.

"B." He greeted calmly. "We meet again, huh?" And they would be, there were still eighteen dates to go.

"In a different venue. I can't believe they went as far as to have sponsors for us." B chuckled, the small bit of nerves he had calming.

"Only our friends would come up with some shit like this. But, I can't say I hate it." Kawaki admitted.

B smiled, feeling the same way. "Me either. So um, this painting thing. Ever done anything like this before?"

"Never. Haven't even thought about it, especially not blind." Kawaki said as he found his wineglass and raised it to his lips.

"They're going to be so bad!" B laughed, not even able to imagine what kind of monstrosity he would end up creating.

"Hey now, I wouldn't go that far. Since we're exchanging paintings at the end of the date, I'm going to create a masterpiece."

B bit his lip with a grin. "Oh yeah? Well mine will be something alright, you'll have to let me know on our next date." He said and then located his own wine glass. "Just don't hold it against me if it burns your eyes." He added, taking a sip of wine.

"They'll both be great." Kawaki told him with certainty. "Better get started. I think I may end up painting myself more than the canvas though."

"Then does that mean I'll get to take you home?" B teased and took one more sip before setting his glass down.

Chuckling, Kawaki picked up a paintbrush and stuck it in one of the colors. "That's something you _really _couldn't handle."

B hummed in both longing and response. "Can't wait to put that to the test."

…

Boruto wouldn't consider himself the artist type, but this painting thing was going pretty well. Sure he still couldn't see shit, but it felt nice to move the brush over the canvas. Though part of that was the wine too. He was proud that he hadn't got a speck of paint on himself, at least he didn't think he had. K on the other hand had trouble in that department and would curse under his breath. Boruto couldn't help giggling every time and really wanted to see what kind of masterpiece he was turning himself into.

"I think mine is coming along." Boruto mused, pausing to drink more wine. "What about you?"

"I'm pretty sure my hands are multicolored." K mumbled. "I have a vision but I can't make any promises. The wine is more of a sure thing than this painting."

Boruto snorted into his glass and then flushed, embarrassed at the sound.

K grinned and set his paintbrush down, wishing he could see the face of his date more and more by the second. "Fucking cute."

"It really wasn't." Boruto insisted and went back to his paintbrush. "I think . . . mine could use a little more blue."

"How the hell do you know what color you're using?" K scoffed, brows furrowing as his head hung. He had no idea.

"Shikadai cut me some slack and told me how the colors were arranged before we got here." Boruto confessed.

"Shit. I feel cheated." K sighed, wanting to throw in the towel, but he never would. "This is some bullshit."

Boruto refrained from laughing, but he really wanted to. "It's cheating, I'll give you that. But otherwise I wouldn't have a fucking chance. I have no idea what I'm doing here."

"Oh well, even if mine looks like a rainbow, it will be fine. For all I know I could be using the same color for everything." He chuckled.

Boruto did laugh then and had to hold onto the arm rest so he wouldn't fall over. "Sorry, I'm not making fun of you, K. Honest."

"Nah, it's funny as fuck. I know." He hummed in amusement, trying to find the bottle of wine to refill his glass.

It wasn't _that_ funny, but added to the wine Boruto ended up slipping into a laughing fit. "Oh, oh god." He giggled right before he snorted again.

The sound of it forced K to laugh loudly and this was what went on between them for the next few minutes until they finally calmed. "Damn it, stop. I can't find the wine. Did you take it?"

"Yeah, I got it over here." Boruto breathed, trying to locate it. "Hell, I haven't laughed that hard in ages . . . and just so you know, I don't normally snort. Pretend that never happened. Talk about embarrassing."

"I think it's cute." K smiled. "Nothing to be shy about."

That only made him shy away even more. "Come on, no one thinks it's cute." Boruto stated just as his hand knocked over the wine bottle. "Oops."

"Ah, fuck!" K screeched, getting to his feet at having the wine spill all over his lap.

"Oh shit! Did that get on you?!" Boruto yelled in surprise.

"Yeah." K told him, trying to figure out a way to clean himself up.

Boruto quickly shrugged off his jacket and held it out to where K's voice was coming from. "Here, use this. Reach out."

"What is it?" He questioned, reaching ahead of him to feel the jacket. "Fuck no, I'm not using your jacket. It's cold outside. I'll just take these off to dry."

"It's alright, I don't min-" Boruto cut himself off when he processed the implication of his words. "You . . . y-your gonna take it off?"

"That's not a problem is it? It's not like you can see anyway. Unfortunately." K smirked.

Unfortunately was right, but Boruto could still imagine. "Damn these fucking blindfolds." He huffed and pulled his jacket back on.

K stripped off his jeans, glad the liquid hadn't seeped through them. He settled them on the back of his chair and then sat back down. "Well, this is like blind strip painting."

"Blind strip painting?" Boruto chuckled, his words lightening his mood again. "Sounds fancy."

"Entertaining at least. As long as we could feel a little bit. Otherwise it would be pointless."

Boruto heated up at the idea. "You think we should?" It was bending the rules a little, maybe a lot, but he was extremely tempted.

"You're not ready, B." He mused quietly. Whether he liked the guy or not, he didn't want him falling in love with him.

"Says you." Boruto mumbled under his breath. He picked up his paintbrush again and dipped it in the blue container. "Maybe we could persuade them to lower the number of dates to like ten."

"So you can get away from me?" K questioned tauntingly.

"No!" Boruto quickly denied. "So I can see what I'm working with." _And get to work on it._

"You would love it."

K was certainly confident and it gave Boruto hope. "Right back at you."

"Ooh. This is going to be hard as fuck." K said, trying his best to picture his date.

They were totally cheating at the moment, but technically still didn't know what the other looked like so it was passable. "Tell me about it. These rules are a pain in the ass."

"Truly. But it makes this more interesting." K grabbed his paintbrush and dipped it in the paint. "Okay, one more stroke."

Boruto choked on his spit. "K! You goddamn tease!"

"Never that. I think your mind is in the gutter, B." He laughed.

Well, he wasn't wrong. "It usually is." He admitted as he started painting again. "Especially when I'm drinking."

"I'm not even gonna attempt to have anymore wine. It's probably best that way."

That could mean a number of things and Boruto wisely decided not to imagine them all. He could only take the teasing and flirting so far before it became a real problem. It was hard to hold back, but it couldn't be helped. Boruto had to see it through to the end and prove Shikadai was wrong, he could go on some dates without fucking. Probably.

…

The date was over, ended by Iwabe coming in to tell Kawaki it was time for them to leave. It had been hours since they started their painting and chatting that was flirty and suggestive a fair amount of time. These dates did have to come to a close but then there was always another to look forward to.

Kawaki got to his feet, getting into his jeans and thinking how happy he was going to be to take the blindfold off—even if he did wish the date didn't have to end. B was fucking adorable, growing on Kawaki with little effort. He loved teasing him, loved the way he reacted to everything and wanted to spend more time with him.

This was definitely good for Kawaki, he did need something like this in his life. It was strange, but he was happy with things as they were for now. It had only been a month since he first met B and they'd only had two dates, but he'd felt a connection between them in those several hours of alone time with him than he had with anyone else in his life. There was no touching or fucking, nothing but a distance and mysteriousness that kept them both on the edge of their seats. Their friends were indeed crafty and Kawaki wasn't going to complain.

The dates were planned to be two weeks apart and the long span irked Kawaki. He wanted them more frequently so he could get through the set amount and finally reveal the guy he was so curious of. He wanted that guy falling at his feet more than anyone else ever had—no matter what he looked like, and he was going to make that happen.


	3. Closer

**Connection**

_Sometimes you need to look past what's on the outside to really see someone._

**Chapter Three**

Closer

* * *

The next couple dates were planned over the course of a single weekend. They would be spending two nights at the beach where they had rooms booked for them and their friends would be staying with them. Since they were the ones planning and handling everything, neither Kawaki or B complained. They were both excited about getting past two of the dates in such a short amount of time because they were both eager to get to see each other.

It was early fall so most days were comfortable, but towards the night it grew cool and sometimes got a little too cool. This weekend in particular, it was nice outside and Kawaki and B were both happy about going to the beach—even if they ended up not seeing much.

Kawaki thought it wasn't so bad being unable to see, he could rely on his other senses and that's just what he did when he met B again. It was at a shipping dock where they would be taking a boat ride for date number three.

Thinking about the weather and the wind from the boat ride, Kawaki dressed in a pair of lounge pants and a black T-shirt. He wanted to be comfortable so he dressed accordingly. His blindfold was in place and Iwabe helped him along the way. They met B and Shikadai on the dock and Kawaki smelled him—sweet and citrusy. He'd come to recognize B's scent and even the feel of his presence.

They greeted each other, smiling in spite of themselves and before long were taken onto the boat. It was rather large but they were led to some seats and sat down, for once next to each other. It was dangerous. They were close enough to feel each other's body heat—more than near enough to want to be closer.

It didn't feel bad outside at all but it wasn't long after the boat started moving, the bite of the wind became chilly. Kawaki hoped his date had enough clothes on to stay warm, but he wouldn't risk feeling him to find out.

"How've you been?" Kawaki asked to start conversation. "I love your painting. Got that masterpiece right on my living room wall."

"You're kidding! It turned out that well?" B asked in pleasant surprise. "I've been alright aside from the cold, bundling up most of the time. I'm more sensitive to it than most people. How have you been doing?"

"Did you dress warm?" Kawaki asked in concern.

B smiled at the question, pulling his shawl tighter around himself. "Yep, as snug as a bug."

"Better be." Kawaki smiled. "And I've been good, just working a lot. So I'm glad to get away for the weekend."

"Then I'm glad too. What kind of work do you do?" B asked curiously.

"I own my own construction company for residential building. I'm hands on and always on the job site so I work my ass off and I've got a lot of new jobs here lately." Kawaki told him, glad to have the business but not minding a break now and then. "How about you?"

B had mixed emotions over the information. He wasn't the type to care if a man was rich or poor, but Kawaki had to be fit in that line of work. The question was how fit? He liked his men strong, but not overly muscular. Cut up like a mother fucker was fine, but not anything like bodybuilders. There was such a thing as too much.

"Well I pretty much suck at anything that requires creativity, but I've got a skilled mouth." B smirked. "I'm a realtor. If you ever want to move into a great house, let me know."

"Yeah? That's nice, but I built my house myself and it's just what I want so I don't plan to leave it." Kawaki laughed lightly.

"Damn, I should have known." B chuckled. "That's really cool though . . . and it suits you. I'll have to see some of the things you've built some time."

Kawaki hummed in agreement. "I would give you a card, but that would be cheating."

"Ah, true. Later then, after we finish all our dates." B said hopefully. He always envied those that could make things and buildings were no easy feat.

"Yeah, you'll have to hand over yours too."

B didn't know what he could want it for now, but he would give it to him all the same. "I hung up your painting too by the way."

"Really?" Kawaki asked, raising his brows as he smiled. "I can only imagine."

"It's not bad, honestly. An abstract and multicolored swirl. I like it." B told him truthfully.

"Mm. That's exactly what I was going for." Kawaki said as he moved his arm to rest on the back of the seat.

B could feel the heat from his body and his cheeks reddened. "Well then you succeeded." He said quietly, wondering how K could make him blush so easily.

"I'm not into failing, so don't expect anything less."

A determined guy. "That's a good quality to have. I like that in a man."

"Good." Kawaki said happily. He didn't know why he enjoyed this so much. "Tell me more about you. What are some things you like?"

A question like that never came from anyone interested in more than friendship, it was admittingly a nice change for B. "Hmm . . . eating for sure." He said with a laugh. "I love trying new things, one day I'll have tasted everything. I guess you could call me a collector . . . I buy and keep little odds and ends that I think are neat. Um, I prefer to be outside unless it's cold cause fuck that. Animals are cool, but not the big ones. And . . . I don't know. I haven't thought about it in awhile. I'm not good at this, huh?"

"You think so? You seem good at it to me, but I've never talked to anyone like this. So it could be my inexperience."

That was surprising, borderline shocking. "Really? Then let's keep it going. What about you, what do you like?"

"Well, I like working and being outside, even in the winter. I'm usually hot, but I can handle the heat when I need to. I don't do much outside of work and my few bad habits, but don't worry about those."

B grinned. "You can't mention them and then pretend you didn't say anything. You might as well get it all out, we've got seventeen more dates to go. What are your bad habits?"

"Shit." Kawaki breathed with a grin. "You tell me one of yours and I might give something away."

That was fair. "Alright, you're on. Bad habits . . . oh, here's one. I leave the dishes in the sink like all the time. I'm a clean person, but dishes . . . I just can't be bothered. They sit there for days."

"Ooh, that's bad." Kawaki snickered. "What else?"

"Hey, you gotta tell me one first. Don't think I forgot already." B pointed out, amused that he would try to pull one over on him.

"Oh, that's right. Let's see . . . my favorite bad habit is smoking weed."

"Whoa." B mused, but he didn't mind. Not at all. "That's bad too."

"A good bad habit, if you ask me." Kawaki laughed. "Never tried it?"

B shook his head before realizing he couldn't see it. "Nope. I'm more of the drinking type. Ah, which is another bad habit. Wine is fine, but real liquor? I'll drink 'til I drop. You'll have to watch me, K."

"Make a lot of bad decisions before you drop?" Kawaki asked curiously. "I'm prone to getting into some fucked up situations when I'm drunk."

B giggled at that. "Do tell. But no, usually I don't cause my ass is chaperoned. Damn Shikadai keeps me on a short leash, but it has saved me a lot so I can't really complain."

"Better than Iwabe's ass who will talk me into doing some fucked up shit even if I'm being good. I can be a jerk to a lot of people and almost always get into a fight if I go to a bar. So I don't do much of that anymore."

It sounded like Kawaki was a fighter. "Wow, that's rough. What else do you got for me?"

"I like to fuck. A lot."

B bit his lip. "Mm, now that's what you call a good bad habit. Me too."

"Oh?" Kawaki smirked at the thought. They seemed to get along in every aspect. "It's not that bad, for me it's just . . . I'm picky as fuck."

That worried B, just a little. "I can relate . . . say, what is it that you look for in a guy? Well, other than looks I guess since that might be cheating." Not that he was one to talk on either of those things. "Or let me rephrase, what kind of stuff do you not like? What pisses you off?"

"I don't think it's cheating if we mention our preferences. We won't be finding out what each other looks like that way. And honestly, one of the main reasons I'm doing this challenge is because everything pisses me off when it comes to the dating life. I don't date, I fuck and go on about my business but apparently Iwabe thinks I'm shitty for that. I don't usually like talking to people like this, but for some reason it doesn't bother me with you."

B smiled. "That's good then. Though as long as you're clear from the get go that all you want is to fuck, I don't think that means you're shitty. You want what you want and you don't want what you don't want, it's as simple as that. For me it's a little different . . ." He trailed. "I'm trying to settle down into a relationship, but it never works out. The sex is good, but their personalities are shit. Apparently Shikadai thinks I'm shallow and not giving the right people a chance."

"Because you're not looking for anyone who would be considered _the right people_. I get that. I search for my exact tastes and have never had any complaints about what I wanted, but I don't know . . . This is fun. At least to do it once."

"Yeah." B agreed, he wasn't against that even if it was a one time thing. "I guess we're being trained, huh? To look at things other than physical appearance."

"Yes, it feels different. But I'm not bothered by it that much. Of course I want to see you, but the blindfold doesn't take away from the dates." Kawaki told him, fingers sliding back through his wind blown hair.

B shivered and unconsciously moved a little closer to Kawaki. "It was annoying at first, but I'm used to it. I'm enjoying myself."

"Me too. Your personality is cute as fuck." Kawaki said, leaning a little closer, until his nose was less than a few inches from B's neck. "And you always smell good."

B didn't dare move, almost able to feel K on him. "O-oh? Good to know."

"Mm. Even not seeing you, I can tell when you get flustered, your voice changes and you'll do that adorable stutter. I like that about you." Kawaki could only imagine the facial expressions B made, but even without them he could enjoy B's reactions to everything.

B couldn't explain why he was affected so much and his face was on fire. The compliments were one thing, but added to the gentle breath on his neck was just plain unfair. He wanted to shy away and press up against him at the same time.

But that wasn't all. "When . . . when did you learn how to read me so easily?"

"When? It all started on the first date. You're pretty easy to read."

"I am not." B huffed, puffing out his cheeks. He was mysterious damn it.

"To me you are. You don't need to pout about it. I like what I can tell about you." _A lot. _

B turned his head away, embarrassed he could tell. "Well . . . as long as you like it, I guess it's okay." He hoped Kawaki couldn't tell how fast his heart was beating.

"I like it. Because I know if you're flustered this easily, it wouldn't take much to turn you on."

That just did. "K . . ." B whined softly, not able to think of a time when he had felt this vulnerable.

Kawaki pulled in a breath, leaning his whole body closer. So close, but he still didn't touch him. "And you can fucking get to me without even meaning to. Shit."

Now B could practically feel Kawaki all around him, he was so warm. "W-wait . . . you're gonna, I'm gonna . . . the rules."

"What rules?"

…

It was impossible, Boruto really couldn't be blamed for his actions. He gave in and closed the distance between them, snuggling his body against K's though at least he kept his hands to himself, clutching his shawl.

"This . . . is your fault." Boruto whispered, melting against the warm and muscular body. "You make me weak."

"But I'm not even trying." K said with a soft chuckle, moving his arm around Boruto's small frame.

"Fuck you, yes you _are_." Boruto insisted, letting his face rest on K's chest. Being held by him was better than he had imagined.

"Swear I'm not." He said, shaking his head. "If I was, you would know."

Boruto didn't believe him, but he wasn't going to put it to the test. Not yet, anyway. "I like this . . . a lot." He confessed, wanting to touch him so badly.

"So do I." K said, moving his hand up Boruto's side, because he didn't give a damn. Fuck the rules.

Boruto wasn't complaining and if K was going to go a step further then so was he. "You're really warm." He murmured and let one hand rest on his chest, seconds away from taking hold of his shirt.

"Always." K agreed. "You're really small."

"Compared to you." Boruto smirked. "You're so big."

"You have no idea."

Boruto's breath hitched and he did fist his shirt after that response. "Fuck, why is it only date three?"

"Shit. I know. I don't know if I believe in us anymore."

"Me either . . . how are we gonna pull this off?" When all they wanted was to get off.

"Very carefully." K assumed. "I say we can do whatever we want other than actually seeing each other. And that doesn't really make a difference to me at this point."

Boruto bit his lip. Could he say the same? Sure he was fun to be with and his body was definitely his type. There wasn't a big chance of him being ugly, but . . . what if he was? What if Shikadai pulled this whole thing just to teach him a lesson? Set him up with someone who seemed like his kind of guy, but really wasn't. He could see Shikadai pulling some shit like that. Thinking about it like that . . . damn, he really was shallow wasn't he?

"No fucking either. We can touch, but nothing further than that." He added, deciding to put himself to the test.

"I'll try my best." K promised. "I've never been so long without sex, so I don't know what will happen."

He could understand that, he was going through withdrawal himself. "Tell me about it. The only thing we can do is try."

"Right. Don't test me though, I'll snap. I already know."

Hearing him say that made Boruto _want_ to test him, but he would refrain. Probably. They stayed snuggled together for the rest of the boat ride and surprisingly Shikadai and Iwabe didn't say a word about it. Once the blindfold was taken off however, Shikadai looked smug as hell. Boruto rolled his eyes and ignored him along with his teasing. He liked K, he would admit it, but not to Shikadai. His mind was constantly thinking about K through dinner and he found himself sighing as he laid down to go to sleep. A grin split his lips and he rolled over in the sheets, kicking his feet. K really was a great guy and he made him feel so giddy.

Actually, he made Boruto feel a lot of things and he had never been this excited before. He wanted things to go well with K and when all was said and done, he wanted to be friends with him at the very least. He was still a bit wired up from being embraced so gently on the boat and just thinking about it made him sigh again. He closed his eyes and attempted to let his thoughts drift to sleep when a cool breeze traveled through his room. He peeked one eye open and realized the balcony door was ajar, left open from when Shikadai had stepped out to smoke before dinner.

He cursed under his breath, tempted to go over to his friend's room and make him close it, but he wasn't that petty. He got out of bed with a cover wrapped over his shoulders and walked to the glass door. It was then that he noticed an odd smell, one that was quickly recognized as weed. Boruto's pulse sped up. Could it be?

"K?" He called out softly, opening the door wider but didn't step out.

"Shit. Your room is right next to mine? Those bastards." K sighed.

Boruto giggled. "It seems we're not the only ones trying to win, huh?" He said as he went out and took a seat. The ground was as cold as the air and he sat cross legged in the chair, tucking the blanket around him.

K was quiet for a moment as he smoked. "They're both twisted as shit. I already won after the first date technically, but I'll make it through every one of them as long as you don't start fucking with me."

"Oh, I would never." Boruto laughed evilly.

"So believable." K mused. "Aren't you cold?"

"I've got a blanket, I'll be fine for a bit." He assured him. "What'd you have for dinner?"

"Pizza and wings." He answered. "What about you?"

It was silly that the man was in a hotel and yet he ordered pizza and wings, but Boruto thought that sounded just like him. "Lobster. Although I didn't enjoy it as much as I could have . . . I was too busy thinking."

"Were you?" K grinned and took another draw off his joint.

"Don't sound so surprised." Boruto chuckled.

"I'm not, really. I've been pretty thoughtful myself."

"No way." He teased. "What's been keeping you distracted?"

"You." K admitted. "And the fact that I really want a strawberry milkshake right now."

"Wah!" Boruto exclaimed, caught off guard by that and started laughing, covering his mouth when he snorted.

"Damn cute ass." K muttered. "I'm serious. Let's go get a milkshake."

"Wait, right now?" He asked, wondering how they would pull that off.

"Yeah. Let's sneak off and get sweet with each other."

Boruto bit his lip, anticipation running through him. "Yeah. Alright. Let's do it."

"Meet me in the hallway. Don't forget your blindfold." K said before tossing his joint and walking inside his room.

Boruto didn't waste time and went inside as well. He located his blindfold and paused when he passed the mirror, fussing with his hair a bit. He scolded himself not three seconds later, remembering that K wouldn't be able to see him. He tied the blindfold on and then felt his way to the door. After pulling it open a bit, he stuck his head out.

"K?" He whisper yelled.

His wrist was grabbed and he was pulled into the hallway, suddenly pressed against a large body. He was face to chest and all too aware of the sculpted muscle against him.

"It's me, baby."

Boruto flushed at the pet name, liking it more than he liked anything ever before. "Y-yeah." He managed to get out, doing his best not to swoon.

"Come on." K said, stepping back but taking his hand instead. "We're going to manage. I want that fucking milkshake so bad."

"We'll get it for sure." He told him, giving his hand a squeeze. It felt different, being out and about when it wasn't scheduled. He really loved it.

K led the way, keeping hold of Boruto's hand as he felt along the walls on their way, but it was near impossible to find the elevators.

"What the?" An unfamiliar voice mumbled, a passerby who wasn't sure what to make of the blindfolded pair. It was a woman who'd stopped in her tracks, too curious not to watch them. "Are you two um . . . alright?"

"I'm fine." Boruto answered before thinking about how they must look. "Oh, blindfolds. Right. Take a good look miss, this is what happens when a game of spin the bottle goes wrong. We have to make it downstairs and back."

K smirked at Boruto's made up explanation and tilted his head in the direction of the woman's voice. "Mind telling us where the elevators are?"

"S-sure." She breathed. "I can take you there."

"Thanks." K smiled and then the woman walked over, taking his free hand.

"It's not far." She said and started walking ahead. "Your friends must have got you good, huh?"

"Oh definitely, but we're not backing down from a challenge." Boruto told her.

"Never." K agreed and ignored the fact that he didn't like her holding his hand.

They turned a corner and then came to a stop and the woman pressed the button for them. "Well this is it." She pulled her hand away and just when K went to breathe a sigh of relief, she placed a piece of paper in his hand.

"What's this?" K asked, brows furrowing as he felt the paper in his hand.

"I-it's my number." She admitted quietly. "Good luck!"

The woman went on her way and soon the elevator doors clicked shut. "Well that was rude." Boruto huffed.

"What was?" K asked as he crumbled the paper and dropped it on the floor.

"That lady giving her number to you like that." He explained. "We're on a bonus date and she's giving out her number like candy. What the hell?"

K laughed and released Boruto's hand to embrace him instead. "I don't know why. My eyes are hidden, that's like most of my face."

"But you do have other assets." Boruto reminded, snuggling into his arms and letting his fingers trace a few of them.

"I do." K agreed shamelessly. "But I'm damn proud of this face."

Boruto smiled at his cockiness. "Can't wait to see it for myself."

"I don't even want to talk about it." K sighed and couldn't resist lifting one hand to Boruto's face. He palmed his cheek and ran his thumb across his jawline, to his lips that he couldn't help but feel.

He was warned not to test him, but how could he not when K acted like this? Boruto took in a shaky breath and kissed the pad of K's thumb. "Someday soon."

K growled at Boruto's teasing and backed him up against the wall roughly, both hands cradling his face, lips moving eagerly towards his but just before he could kiss him, the elevator came to a stop.

"Fuck." K hissed, chiding himself as he backed away. He really did have no control.

Boruto almost went after him, but held fast to the rail behind his back. It had only lasted a few seconds, but he was already worked up. Maybe K was right, he couldn't handle him, but he still wanted him.

"We . . . we're here." He said, panting the slightest bit.

"Come," K said, taking his hand once more and pulling him along. He moved slowly, feeling his way through because he'd be damned if anyone else was grabbing his hand. But when they finally reached the exit and were greeted by the doorman, K asked him to hail them a cab.

It wasn't long before they were seated next to each other in the cab and K asked for them to be taken to the nearest milkshake place. They arrived in just over ten minutes and got out of the cab, walking blindly up to the stand. They listened to the people around them, eventually finding the line to order.

"Fucking finally. My mouth's watering."

"They better give us the biggest cup they have." Boruto said, having fun despite the difficulty. It was like being on an adventure and his childish side couldn't be more happy.

"Does that mean you want to share with me?" K grinned.

That wasn't how he meant it, but- "Yes. Yes it does."

"Mm. I guess I can share if it's with you." He chuckled and then they were called up to the stand to order. It didn't take long for them to get their large strawberry milkshake and a straw, K finding them a seat miraculously without bumping into anyone. He made sure Boruto was seated carefully before he sat beside him. "This is a lot harder without those two bastard friends of ours."

Boruto hummed in agreement. "Hard, but worth it. It's daring, don't you think?"

"I just hope the excitement doesn't fade after the blindfolds come off." K told him, because he did fear this.

"I can't say for sure." Boruto responded honestly. "You'll still be you and I'll still be me. It might not be as thrilling, but it will be its own thing, you know? Something unique."

"It's not like I'll run away from you or anything. It's just . . . I might go back to my old ways and just want to fuck."

He reached for K's hand and threaded their fingers together. "That will be okay if you do." Boruto found himself saying. If things didn't work out with K then it meant he wasn't the one and would just move on. Boruto was used to it at this point, moving from one guy to the next. "We'll have to be friends regardless though or else."

"Damn, trying to get rid of me already? It's not my fault I'd rather fuck than date but you didn't have to shoot me down like that." K huffed and stabbed the straw in their milkshake.

"What? I didn't say we couldn't fuck." He told him. "And I'm not trying to get rid of you. I'm just saying . . . whatever you decide, it's cool with me."

"Mm. Alright." K hummed and finally had a sip of the shake, groaning at the perfection it was. "Hell yeah."

Boruto grinned widely. "Full of strawberry goodness, huh? Don't go drinking it all. I want some too."

"I'm not gonna leave you hanging, baby."

Boruto held his hand tighter, feeling as if he would turn into puddy in K's hands every time he called him that. "Hmm." He replied, trying not to give himself away by stuttering. "Gimmie."

K moved the cup closer to Boruto, raising it and positioning the straw at his lips. "Here you go."

He took the straw and sipped a few times, the cold drink tasty. "It's good!" Boruto smiled happily.

"Yes. Nothing like a strawberry milkshake." K breathed. "Tastes so good."

The way he said it made Boruto scoot over a little closer. "It does."

K moved the cup to himself, having another drink. He swallowed happily as he held the cup for Boruto. "And just thinking about _you _tasting like it. Fuck."

"W-what?" Boruto stammered just before the wind blew. He hadn't been thinking about the cold before, not even noticing the temperature until now. "Cold."

"Ah. The milkshake doesn't help." K realized, moving his arm around Boruto and holding him close. "I guess I didn't think this through."

Boruto snuggled against his warm body. "I still want it. The milkshake." He said. "And you're like a body heater anyway." He added with a giggle.

"Just stay close. Can't have you getting sick because of me."

"No problem there." He assured, greedy for his touch.

The two of them sat and finished the milkshake, talking about what they would be doing tomorrow. The trip back was harder than the trip there, but they were able to get back safely and without major incident. It didn't matter how late it was or who saw them. Their only focus was each other. Once they reached their rooms, K came up to Boruto's door to say goodnight.

"Sorry for dragging you out in the cold so late, but I don't regret it."

"Good." Boruto chuckled. "I don't regret it either. It was really fun."

"It was." K agreed, tugging Boruto into a hug. He leaned down so that his lips were at his ear and whispered, "goodnight." before kissing his cheek and escaping to his room.

Boruto was left standing in front of his door, his hand raising to his flushed face. His fingers touched the spot were K's lips had kissed him. It was only on the cheek and yet it made his heart flutter. When he went into his room and took off his blindfold, he slid to the floor with a small smile on his face. K was so sweet the way he worried about him made Boruto feel special. It was undeniable. He had really come across a great man, one that was living up to the boyfriend he desired. Even if an actual relationship didn't work out, even if they only just fucked . . . maybe . . . maybe it didn't matter what he looked like.

…

Kawaki couldn't deny it, he really liked B. He'd never had to spend so much time with someone and strangely enough, he wanted it. He wanted him. He was looking forward to each of their remaining dates, including the full day planned for them on their last day at the beach.

They met up at lunch, ate together and talked as much as ever, slowly learning more and more about each other. After that, Iwabe and Shikadai took them to a spa where they enjoyed hours of relaxation together. They enjoyed each other's company and never got bored or uninterested, it was all so new to Kawaki. He didn't understand it and questioned if it was just the blindfold making him like this, however he knew better than that. It was this guy.

After the spa, they returned to their hotel where they spent the late evening in the hot tub together, both of them wisely keeping a distance between themselves, even if it was difficult. There were still so many dates to be had before they could reveal their identities to each other, but neither of them could wait. They _would_, but they didn't want to. Not at all.

It was late that night when they were telling each other goodnight, knowing they wouldn't see each other again until their next date. Kawaki took initiative, giving B a folded piece of paper. He wished he'd thought of it sooner and technically it wasn't breaking any rules even if he truly didn't give a damn about the rules.

…

Boruto was more than surprised when K gave him a piece of paper when they parted and eagerly looked at it once he was on his bed. Inside was a phone number and he couldn't keep the grin off his face if he wanted to.

"Fucking genius." He spoke out loud and quickly located his cell phone. He saved the number under K and then let it ring, anticipating the answer.

"Hello?" His deep voice picked up after a few rings.

"You sneaky bastard." Boruto laughed. "I didn't even think about exchanging numbers."

K joined in his laughter. "It took me a while to think of it myself."

"Well it was brilliant." He complimented and laid down on his stomach, propping his head up with a pillow. "Today was great, though I damn near died in that hot tub."

"Too hot?" K asked teasingly.

Boruto shook his head. "Come on, don't pretend you weren't having just as hard of a time."

"Mm. Yeah, it was hard as fuck not to touch you knowing you were half naked and just sitting there."

Boruto groaned. "Tell me about it! I just wanted to reach over and grab your-" He cut himself off and cleared his throat. "Like you said. It was hard as fuck."

"Was it my dick you were hoping to grab?" K asked with a chuckle.

"No . . . I wanted to grab your hand . . . and if I happened to miss and grab your dick instead, well, win win."

"You should have given it a shot then." K sighed.

"I should have." He agreed and sighed as well. "So . . . what are you doing?"

"Stripping for bed. How about you?"

Boruto bit his lip. "Hmm, you sleep naked? Good to know. I'm laying down in my pjs."

"That sounds adorable as fuck." K hummed. "What kind of pjs?"

He giggled in both glee and slight embarrassment at his words. "Call me fancy, but they're hot pink . . . with black stars on them."

"Full pajamas, huh? Very cute. I can picture it."

Boruto played with the edge of the covers. "Yeah? I can picture yours too."

"Oh, I doubt that." He laughed, finally getting into bed. "And if you did, you'd be in a situation over there."

"You're not wrong . . ." Boruto trailed. "But I have felt a good majority of it so it's not that hard to imagine."

"Damn. I should be feeling you more."

He chuckled at that. "You should. I've almost got you completely mapped out."

"I'll get to work on that." K promised. "I need to get acquainted. With all of you."

"I'd like that . . . would probably cop a feel myself while you did."

"You'd be too distracted, baby."

His breath hitched, the pet name becoming a weakness he wasn't able to fight. "Because you would keep me busy?"

"Of course. You wouldn't know what to do." K told him confidently.

The promise made Boruto long for him even more. "A single wall between us, so tragic."

"Trust me, I already want to throw in the towel here. And that's never happened to me before."

He remembered him talking about that, how he hadn't liked to fail at anything. "I feel the same . . . at least I can say it'll be worth the wait."

"Oh hell yeah. Even now, I don't know what to think about not getting off for so long. Shit, this is torture." K sighed.

Boruto could understand that too, he had a pretty active sex drive of his own. "Sweet sweet torture, almost bittersweet. It's been too damn long since I had a cock."

"I want to give you mine." K muttered, totally over having to wait.

"Don't say that or else I really will get a situation over here." Boruto whined.

"I'd really like to handle that situation for you."

Now K was testing him. "Fuck, I wish you would." He breathed, refraining from squirming.

"I will. It's going to happen, just gotta be patient." K said, voice sounding even deeper.

He had to squirm then, that voice was pure sin. "It's so hard."

"How hard?"

"Really, really hard. I don't know if I can stand it, K." Boruto told him.

"God damn." K groaned and rolled over in his bed. "Alright, drop it."

He thought about it for a moment, the temptation to get it going almost impossible to resist, but he moved to lay on his back and took a few deep breaths. "Fine. But you owe me a milkshake for this."

"Alright, baby whatever you want." K smiled.

Boruto smiled as well, face heating up. "I like the sound of that."

"You should. I've never said shit like that to anyone else."

Boruto liked that too, his heart warming. "Really? You sure know how to make a guy feel special, K."

"Never heard that before." He grumbled. "Guess I'm more capable than I thought."

"Oh I think you're plenty capable."

"You sound happy. That makes me happy." K confessed softly.

He was right, K was as sweet as could be. "I'm always happy when I'm with you." Boruto whispered. "That goes for talking to you as well . . . I've never connected with someone like this before."

"Neither have I. But I think that makes it even better. We can enjoy this for the first time together." It was exciting and made K look forward to everything else that awaited them.

"Together. I wouldn't have it any other way."


	4. Real

**Connection**

_Sometimes you need to look past what's on the outside to really see someone._

**Chapter Four**

Real

* * *

Going two weeks without seeing each other was a task on its own, and Kawaki was so thankful he'd given B his number. If nothing else, they could at least call or text each other and they did just that at some point everyday, some days several times a day. They were comfortable, more so than Kawaki could ever imagine himself being comfortable with anyone and by the time they finally had their fifth date, he'd been itching to see him. It was just dinner at Iwabe's place, which Kawaki hadn't been so sure about.

After not seeing B for so long, he would much rather have him alone, but it couldn't be helped. It was one of their shortest dates yet and Kawaki wanted more, he wanted to get these dates over with and he told Iwabe as much. It wasn't okay with him to be so _lacking. _Shit, it had been over two months since he'd last had a piece of ass and B wasn't making it any easier on him.

Every day it got harder and harder, but no matter how difficult it became, Kawaki wouldn't try and fuck anyone else. He could have, easily, but he didn't want to. He wanted B and right now he was dedicated to him completely. Nobody else mattered, he was too focused on that petite, soft spoken guy who drove him insane. Soon. _Soon he would have him. _

Their next date was on a Friday morning, a wine tasting that would last several hours. They had both become accustomed to the blindfolds and got around much easier, but they were both concerned about tasting such a wide variety of wines. They didn't need to be getting drunk in their current states. Horny was one thing. But drunk and horny. Shit.

It happened though. Two hours into the tasting, B was more giggly and clingy than he ever had been, enough so that Kawaki had to take him away from everyone else—not that he gave a damn about the others. Outside, Kawaki held onto B's shoulders, listening to him giggle about nothing.

"You okay? I can call Iwabe for a ride." Kawaki asked thoughtfully.

"What's an Iwabe?" B questioned, but shook it off. "I'm fiiiiine. Totally fine. Oh, I might be drunk though . . . K, I'm a lightweight. Did I tell you I was a lightweight? I'm pretty sure I did."

"No, baby, you didn't tell me." Kawaki smiled and moved his fingers through B's hair. "It was too much, too fast."

"Shit, I didn't tell you?" B frowned and wrapped his arms around Kawaki's waist. "I'm sorryyyy."

"That's okay." Kawaki rubbed his back reassuringly. "I don't mind at all."

B grinned. "Good, that's gooood. Say, why is it so dark?"

"Oh no." Kawaki breathed, moving his hands to B's head to make sure the blindfold was in place. "You can't take this off."

"Mm, no? But why?" He whined.

"Because you're not allowed to see me." He explained softly.

B pouted and tugged at Kawaki's shirt. "I don't like that . . . but okayyy."

"Good boy." Kawaki smiled and ruffled B's hair. "I should get you out of here. I'll call Iwabe."

"Oh, I'm not _that _drunk. Not off of wine." B insisted. "I've been drunked . . . um, drunkered . . . ah, drunkerer before."

"Yeah?" Kawaki hoped not, but didn't say anything as he pulled out his cellphone and called Iwabe. "Hey,"

"Hi." B replied happily.

Kawaki laughed lightly and hugged B to him. "Come pick us up. Hurry." He told Iwabe before hanging up and sliding his phone back in his pocket.

"I don't think I can pick you up, K." B mumbled. "Much less me and you."

"No, baby. Don't try that." Kawaki said. "Let's sit here together." He told him, sitting down on the ground and pulling B down with him, settling him in his lap.

"Sitting. We're just gonna sit?" He asked. "That's booooring."

"Aw, come on. How often do we get to be like this?" Kawaki asked with a smile.

B thought about it and then snuggled up to him. "I like it."

"See? It's not boring." Kawaki mused, his thumb stroking B's hand softly.

It captured his attention and soon he took Kawaki's hand in both of his. "It's larger than mine! By so much!" He exclaimed and lined up one hand with the one he held, comparing them.

"Yeah. I'm a lot bigger than you. Haven't you noticed?" Kawaki asked, wondering why the hell he was so happy.

"Oh?" B voiced and then went about feeling Kawaki's chest. "_Oh._ Oh my."

"You forgot?" Kawaki laughed. "Feel all you want, baby."

He gladly took him up on that and starting moving his hands around. He marveled at Kawaki's shoulders and his arms, going on about how strong he was. It was all fun and games until his hands traveled south.

Suddenly B had a hold on Kawaki's crotch and started giggling. "I got your dick!"

"Shit, what the fuck?" Kawaki gasped, grabbing B's wrists and pulling his hands up.

"Heyyy. I was touching that." He complained.

"Yeah, I noticed." Kawaki grumbled. "You can't."

B frowned again. "No? How come? I wanna."

"Well for one reason we're sitting outside of a wine tasting and there could be anyone watching us. Also, you're not about to get me worked the fuck up and me not be able to do anything about it."

"Oh . . . well that's no fun."

"You're right. But it can't be helped. I can't believe you did that to me." Kawaki sighed.

"You don't like that?" He asked. "I'm sorryyy."

"I do like it. That's the problem."

That confused him. "If you like it, it's not a problem. No problemo."

"Yeah it is, if I can't fuck you." Kawaki muttered.

"Whoa." B gasped. "Damn . . . I like that better. Let's do that."

"Yo." Iwabe called as he walked up and Kawaki sighed in relief.

"Iwabe." _Thank goodness. _

B turned his head. "Iwabe? Hmm . . . so that's an Iwabe . . . I can't see him."

"No, you're blindfolded." Kawaki explained as he got to his feet, pulling B up with him.

"Oh yeeeah. When can I take it off again?" He asked, clinging to Kawaki's arm.

"Whenever we go our separate ways."

"Separate? Noooooo." He protested. "What's with that shit? I don't wanna."

"Not right this second." Kawaki told him reassuringly. "But you can't take it off until then." He reached out and laid his free hand on Iwabe's shoulder, leading B along.

He still didn't like the sound of that. "I promise I won't take it off so you'll stay, right?"

"I'm not going anywhere." Kawaki assured. "Let's just get away from here. Are you hungry?"

"Mmm, yes."

"Iwabe, take us somewhere we can eat privately." Kawaki said.

"Alright, no problem." Iwabe nodded, grinning wickedly to himself.

B came along happily, satisfied now that Kawaki wasn't leaving and refusing to let go of his arm. "I'm ready to eat." He giggled.

"I know, we're going." Kawaki promised just as they arrived at Iwabe's car and got in the backseat together.

After everyone was buckled in, B made sure to be as close as possible to Kawaki, resting his head on his upper arm. He had one hand linked with his while the other ran up and down his thigh. Kawaki could only shake his head and will himself not to react. B was drunk and Kawaki had never experienced it before, it was a lot more trying than sober B.

"Stop." Kawaki whispered to him chidingly when he kept rubbing his thigh more and more sexually.

B puffed out his cheeks. "Fine." He said shortly and started rubbing his chest instead.

He was so undeniably cute that Kawaki couldn't stand it. They couldn't have made it to Iwabe's place fast enough. Iwabe explained that he would make them lunch so they would be safe from the public. Kawaki could tell his friend was enjoying this a hell of a lot, but he didn't call him out on it. While Iwabe started making food, Kawaki took B into the living room and sat on the couch with him. Yet again, B cuddled up to him and had to have some part of him to rub on. Kawaki let him have at it.

"Your friend will be upset he wasn't around to chaperone you. Won't he?"

"I don't care about that." He told him. "I have you. I don't need Shikadai's ass."

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Shikadai said as he entered the room, making B flinch.

"Fuck, he found us!" B whisper yelled.

"Seems so." Kawaki nodded slowly. "Life's hard when you can't see shit."

He agreed with that. "Right! We should take these off."

"Whoa, Whoa!" Kawaki scoffed, moving his hands to B's head again and holding the blindfold in place. "You can't."

"Alright, how wasted are you Bor-B?" Shikadai corrected, thrown off by the familiar setting of a drunk friend.

Kawaki's face scrunched in curiosity at what Shikadai _almost _said. B's actual name. _Bor- _he wondered what it was and wanted to ask.

"Why are you calling me barbie?" B grumbled. "I'm not that drunk so piss off."

"What is wrong with you, how many times do I have to tell you to pace yourself?" Shikadai scolded. "You got drunk off of wine? Really? Usually you're better with that at least."

"I wanted to taste it! And we were having a good time until you showed up, bastard. Go awayyyy."

Shikadai took a deep breath. "I should ban you from drinking period."

B gasped. "Noooooo! You can't do that. K, tell him he can't. I'm not even drunk!"

"Yeah, you can't do that." Kawaki agreed aloud but he was shaking his head at Shikadai.

"Yeah! What K says goes! So there." B said, turning up his nose.

"Alright, calm down killer." Kawaki sighed, wrapping his arm around B.

He settled down almost instantly and snuggled back up to his side. Shikadai rolled his eyes, but he was smirking. "I'll just let you handle all of that then."

"Fuck." Kawaki whispered, knowing he was shit out of luck now.

"I thought you said we couldn't?" B asked and Shikadai took his leave.

"We can't. That's the truth."

His hope was crushed. "Aw."

"I'm sorry." Kawaki smiled and gently brushed both his hands through B's hair. "I really want to."

"Me too." He hummed. "Feels nice."

"Yeah?" Kawaki smiled again, continuing to play with his hair.

It was relaxing and he didn't end up responding until a few moments later. "Mmmm. Sleepy."

"You want to sleep? Go ahead. You can get up when the food is ready."

"M'kay."

In less than a minute, B was sleeping soundly snuggled up to Kawaki and Kawaki rubbed his back soothingly. He was thoughtful, because for the life of him—no matter how much he thought over his time with B—he couldn't understand how he'd ended up in this position.

Drunk B was even cuter than his sober self and it was hard to handle. Normally, Kawaki would hate the clinginess and the closeness period, but he loved it when it came to B. He honestly never wanted it to end.

…

Boruto hadn't planned to get drunk, but hell, he got _drunk_. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if he didn't know, but he knew everything. He remembered every embarrassing thing that had happened and hadn't really sobered up until after he ate. He was mortified and locked himself in the bathroom until K talked him out of there. He didn't want to face him even though he couldn't see him, but K called him in that gentle tone and it wasn't possible to resist.

However on the way back to his flat, he gave Shikadai a hard time over almost letting his name slip. His friend wasn't one for making mistakes, but he wasn't perfect and Boruto made damn sure he knew it. None of that saved him from hearing the rant about getting drunk, but it still made him feel better. The following two weeks consisted of Boruto working his ass off, ending up busier than he usually was. An indecisive couple in particular was stressing him out with whiplash with how frequently they changed their minds.

The added frustration built and he was struck once again with that fact that he really, really needed to get laid. Masturbating just wasn't as good, but he wouldn't go out and search for a quick fuck. He was a one man at a time guy and K was that man. He was ready to unwind though and the next date couldn't come soon enough. The seventh date was set at the park, a picnic that had a few hitches in the beginning. Boruto hadn't been on one in years and even then it was with family, but Shikadai and Iwabe were doing it all wrong.

The spot was great and the set up was as well. The food on the other hand, that shit had to go. Once he knew what was going on, he refused to leave his flat unless they threw away the food and let Boruto fill it with things he made. So maybe there was nothing wrong with the food per say, but Boruto wasn't about to go on a picnic with K and have him eat something he didn't make. That wasn't how picnic dates worked. The small ordeal ended up making him late and he apologized when he arrived.

K had been waiting patiently and didn't seem upset in the slightest. Still, Boruto thought he deserved an explanation and told him what had happened. K laughed, but was more than happy to eat what Boruto had made. For some reason he was nervous as K took that first bite, even more so because he _still _couldn't see shit. All he could do was wait. Instead of responding, K had proceeded to stuff his face and paused to thank Boruto in the middle of it all. It made Boruto smile and he couldn't stop.

They ate and talked about work, Boruto ranting about the difficult couple. K had a busy two weeks himself and told him about some new hires he was training. The conversation relieved some stress and later moved on to the usual flirting. K was in top form and had Boruto blushing more than normal. Finally Boruto had to tap out, the teasing way too much for him and K relented after sneaking one last comment in. The day grew colder and they ended up huddled together, silently enjoying the others company.

It was a good idea to have the picnic before it got too cold, but Boruto loved using the excuse to cuddle with K. He gave into his urges more after his drunk episode, learning that K didn't have a problem with it. The simple and easy going day made Boruto's longing to see K's face stronger. It wasn't just for the sake of curiosity or wanting to know if he was hot, he just longed to see _him_. He wanted a name and a face to give the man he was growing so close to, closer than any man before him.

He wanted to run his fingers through his hair, trace the lines of his face, _look_ at him. He was at the point that no matter what his physical features were he would find them beautiful because they were his. Sure he wanted sex, but he wanted to be intimate. He wanted to know all of K and the realization shocked him. It was a reminder and a slap in the face, Boruto was a shallow person and Shikadai had been right. He had been only interested in looks and thinking that he could have missed out on K made him ashamed. However, it wasn't like that anymore. Boruto refused to be like that anymore.

The picnic date ended with K buying Boruto the milkshake he owed him, making Boruto laugh. In all honesty he had forgotten all about it. He decided to share it with K and then the pair reluctantly went their separate ways. It got harder and harder to let go every time. Date eight was really relaxed, the two of them did arts and crafts in Shikdai's living room. Again Boruto was a little put out over doing something creative, but it was with K so it was more than worth it. They planned to give each other their creations when they were finished and Boruto knew he would keep this one as well.

In truth, while he preferred to stay away from all things artistic because he sucked at it, he loved art. He loved all kinds of artistic expressions even if it came in the form of a piece of furniture. For years he collected bits and pieces of it that really blew him away, they were his secret treasures that only a few knew about. He had told K that he collected things once, but K didn't know the depth of it. Boruto had a single room where he put his treasures, not wanting to leave them out in the open in his flat. Even Shikadai hadn't been allowed to go inside it. The room was off limits to all.

Hanging on the wall in that room was K's painting, standing tall. Boruto hadn't been lying when he said he liked it and he didn't hesitate to add it to his collection. This time though, K's creation was going in the room simply because he had made it for Boruto.

"Would you rather confess to a crime you didn't commit and serve five years, or condemn someone for life for something you knew they didn't do?" Boruto asked, continuing the game they chose to play while they worked.

"I'd rather confess and do the time myself." K told him, knowing he could never pin anything on anyone else.

"A man of honor." Boruto grinned.

"Would you rather eat nothing but sweets for a week or skip one meal a day for a week?" K asked to keep the game going.

Boruto bit his lip, torn. "That's a hard one . . . eating sweets would be hard, but I could work off the calories . . . and skipping a meal . . . I like to eat, so that would suck." He thought out loud. "But I don't like sweets other than dairy . . . um, I think I'd rather skip a meal and just make my other two bigger."

"That sounds like cheating, but okay." K chuckled.

"It's not cheating." Boruto insisted. "Okay, my turn. Would you rather be stuck in a pit of bugs for one hour or stuck in a pit of snakes for four hours?"

"Damn that is a tough one. I don't think I can make a decision. I don't want to be around any bugs—no snakes either."

"Same here, but you have to pick one." He pressed. "Personally I would go with the snakes. I don't do bugs. Period. Ew."

"I think to save some time, I would go with the bugs. Otherwise it would be the snakes for sure." K laughed. "Would you rather see me for five minutes or have an extra ten blind dates with me?"

Now that was a hard one. "Shit, I want both of those though!"

"Only one." K smiled.

"Noooo. Fuck." How could he choose? "Just because I see you for five minutes doesn't mean we won't have more dates . . . but if I pick an extra ten dates that doesn't mean I won't get to see you at all . . . hmmm . . . I'd rather have the ten."

"I would have made the same choice." K admitted softly before kissing Boruto's cheek.

Boruto blushed and found inspiration for his next question. "Would you rather kiss me on the cheek as many times as you want or only get to kiss me on the lips once?"

"I want to kiss you like crazy. One kiss on the lips would never be enough. So I'll take the cheek kisses and whatever other ones I want to take too."

Boruto giggled in delight at his answer. "Okay, how about this. Would you rather turn your head to the left or to the right? Don't tell me, just do it."

K grinned and turned his head slightly to the left. Boruto waited a few seconds to make sure he turned and then leaned forward, kissing him on the cheek.

"W—Hey. Only I can do that." K huffed, the back of his neck heating up.

"Too late, I already did it." Boruto laughed and sat back down.

"You did." K hummed. "Don't get sneaky like that again."

"I make no promises."

"Good."

Boruto wasn't expecting that. "Wah!" He exclaimed and laughed loudly. "You're not supposed to say that! Tease!" He got out before he snorted.

"Never that." K said while laughing with him.

They continued to joke around and talk as they finished their arts and craft projects, Shikadai's table ending up covered in glue and glitter. Once they exchanged creations and cleaned up everything except the table, they said their goodbyes. It was longer than usual and neither one wanted to go. Knowing they would see each other on the next date wasn't as reassuring as it used to be because they wanted more time together. The pair finally parted, K pulling Boruto into a hug with a whispered promise to call him later that night. The more and more dates that passed, the more they realized it wasn't enough. Date twenty was too far away.


	5. Names and Urges

**Connection**

_Sometimes you need to look past what's on the outside to really see someone._

**Chapter Five**

Names and Urges

* * *

Their ninth date was on a cold, early winter night where they sat by a fire outside, listened to music and shared stories about their pasts and told each other their thoughts and plans for the future. There wasn't much to it, but it was in a way so intimate and _soft. _Kawaki was soft as hell for B. He didn't even care to fight or deny it, he just enjoyed being as sweet on him as he wanted. B never complained.

It was a cuddly night and they learned even more about each other, having yet to find anything that made them think twice about how close they were getting. There was never an uncomfortable silence between them and things were never awkward. They just wanted to be together and it felt as if they'd known each other for years. It was a lovely night and they hadn't wanted it to end—only moments after they'd separated, they ended up on the phone and the call went on all night.

It was on the day of their tenth date that they learned something new. As a reward for making it to the halfway mark, they would be able to share their first names with each other. Kawaki was excited, it was an unexpected treat and he couldn't wait to use B's name to get to him. It would be another home date, where they would have dinner and sit around, having a few drinks together.

Kawaki couldn't wait and for the first time, they were doing this at his house and he'd cooked himself this time as he'd waited impatiently for B to arrive. He wanted to learn his name as soon as he arrived and it was literally the first thing out of his mouth.

"Tell me." He breathed, pulling B up to his body and wrapping his arms around him.

"Boruto." He answered immediately. "My name is Boruto. And you?"

"Boruto." Kawaki hummed, grinning excitedly. He couldn't believe it. "It's Kawaki."

"Ka . . . fuck, why am I nervous?" Boruto chuckled. "Ka . . . Kawaki."

"Yes." Kawaki grinned again, feeling as if things had just took a step forward—one that he'd been waiting for. "You're so fucking cute, Boruto."

It felt completely different hearing it along with his name. "O-oh no. I don't think I'll get used to that." He said, not even trying to fight off his blush.

"Too bad you don't have a choice." Kawaki said darkly though he placed a soft kiss to Boruto's cheek before pulling him over to the couch. "Welcome to my home, even though you can't see it."

"I know, I hate that." Boruto pouted. "But I'm glad to be here." He said and the pout quickly turned into a smile. "Kawaki."

"Yes?" He pressed, loving the sound of his name on those lips that he really, _really _wanted to kiss.

"Ah, sorry, nothing. I just wanted to say it." Boruto confessed.

"Don't be sorry. I love to hear it." Kawaki told him happily. "And can you believe it . . . We're halfway to the reveal."

"Tell me about it. I'm nervous for that too . . . but mainly excited." He said and threaded their fingers together. "It's funny how reaching the halfway point makes it seem so much closer."

Kawaki nodded. "And yet so far at the same time. I just need this face in my life." He said as he stroked Boruto's cheek with his free hand.

The feeling was mutual. "It's the same for me . . . Kawaki." He would never get tired of saying his name. "It's so silly, getting worked up over a name, but I can't help it."

"I don't think it's silly at all, Boruto." Kawaki mused. "It's still so new, neither of us can help it."

"I really like it, it suits you so well." He complimented.

"Thanks, baby." Kawaki smiled, brushing his thumb across those perfectly kissable lips. "I really like yours too."

It was too much for Boruto to handle in the moment. "A-ah, don't . . ." He shied away and ducked his head, blushing again. "You're too much."

"Not even close." Kawaki huffed, pulling Boruto's head to his chest. "I'm only a little upset that you want to hide from me."

"What am I supposed to do . . . when you make me feel this way?" He asked, wrapping an arm around Kawaki's waist while the other fisted his shirt.

Chuckling, Kawaki asked, "No, what are you gonna do when you can't hide from me anymore?"

He was right, they weren't going to wear the blindfolds forever. "I have no idea." Boruto said honestly. He had never been this open and vulnerable with a man before and they hadn't even had sex yet.

"I get the feeling it's going to be cute as fuck."

That made Boruto grin. "What if I run?"

"I'd catch you of course." Kawaki stated the obvious. "You can't run from me, Boruto."

He gripped his shirt tighter at the sound of his name spoken in that deep voice. "I don't know . . . I'm pretty fast."

"Not as fast as me." Kawaki said with a smirk.

"Oh, so confident. I love it." Boruto admitted.

"You should be used to it by now." It was a trait that Kawaki had always had and it would never die.

"And cocky as fuck." Boruto chuckled. "I love that too."

"Hm. What else do you love?" He asked in anticipation.

The unexpected question made him pause. "Well . . . you're body for one thing." Boruto teased, though he did love it. "And the way you treat me . . . I feel . . . wanted. And special."

"Hm. You are." Kawaki smiled and slowly started massaging Boruto's back.

And there he was, proving it again. "Believe it or not, I've never felt spoiled. But I feel that way with you. I can't help but soak up all the attention and affection. Though sometimes it's so much that I get embarrassed."

"So much and yet I haven't even kissed you yet." They still had a long way to go. Boruto had no idea what he was getting himself into and Kawaki wasn't sure how much longer he could wait.

"Hey!" He laughed. "Alright, so I get flustered easily, I'll admit it. But I've got some moves of my own."

"Well fuck, lay one on me."

Boruto bit his lip. "Right now?"

"Now." He confirmed.

Well if he wanted it then he would get it. Boruto leaned back from the comfortable embrace to take on a more daring position, swinging his leg over so he was straddling Kawaki's lap.

"Damn, this is unexpected." Kawaki grinned, hands moving to Boruto's hips.

Kawaki had no idea. "You want to see more?" Boruto smirked.

"Hell yeah."

He leaned forward and let their bodies press together, his arms wrapping around Kawaki's shoulders. "More?" He breathed, taking his earlobe between his teeth. It was pierced.

Wanting so much more, Kawaki didn't have it in him to say no, yet he was already grunting at the way Boruto made him feel. "Yes."

"That's it." He encouraged, mouthing behind his ear, surprised to feel more piercings against his cheek.

He wanted to fist his fingers in Kawaki's hair, but couldn't risk messing with the blindfold. Instead he felt down his back with one hand and down his chest with the other. He could hear as much as feel Kawaki's breathing and it only urged him on to press his hips down.

"You don't wanna do that, baby." Kawaki warned.

Boruto couldn't stop the whine that escaped at the pet name. "I do. I want it."

"Shit. I'm not messing around. I can't take it, I won't be able to control myself."

It was more than just tempting, Boruto had to do it, he needed to do it. But he couldn't. With more restraint than he thought he possessed, he slowly removed himself from Kawaki's lap.

"Ten more dates, huh? I might not make it . . ."

"Well you're doing better than me because I know damn well I'm not gonna make it." Kawaki scoffed.

The confession only added to Boruto's own self doubt. "Maybe we shouldn't pull any more moves. Or else we'll reach the point of no return. Cause, fuck, I did not want to return just now."

"I believe you're right. And neither did I." Kawaki sighed. It had been too damn long and he was glad Boruto moved before he got a feel of his issue. "We will have to be good."

"Even though it's so fun being bad." Boruto added with a smile. "So food. Let's do that."

"I wanna be bad so much. But alright, I'll feed you." Kawaki got to his feet and tugged Boruto onto his feet, leading him from the living room to the kitchen. "I actually already cooked some soup for us, but we will have to be careful. Wouldn't want to spill it and have to strip."

"I believe that was a shot at me and I'm going to ignore it, but noted." Boruto stated.

Having already had everything set out to be easy to get to, Kawaki managed to prepare them both a bowl without incident. He had Boruto wait while he set the table and then he helped him to the table and they sat next to each other, forgetting what almost happened as they got wrapped in conversation and ate their soup.

They had to be close, often leaning against each other or seeking out their hands. It was otherworldly, feeling such happiness with a person you'd never seen before. Almost three months and in only ten dates—and many, many phone calls and they were crazy about each other. What they looked like was no longer a factor. It couldn't change how either of them felt.

After they'd had their fill, they returned to the living room and got in the recliner together. Kawaki held Boruto tightly, his chin resting atop his head that was comfortably on his chest. The TV was playing some music, the volume down low and the fireplace was warm but Kawaki had still thrown a blanket over them.

The conversation had slowed until it stopped completely, Kawaki absentmindedly running the tips of his fingers up and down Boruto's back while Boruto tried his best to stay awake. Kawaki was pretty tired himself, having to really work his ass off because the new boys he'd hired were completely inexperienced. He was the type that wanted to give everyone a chance. You had to learn, he understood this, so he would get through the difficulty regardless of how strenuous it was.

Needless to say, he was pretty worn down and not long after Boruto drifted off, so did he. It wasn't until early the next morning that Kawaki woke up with Boruto slump on him in the same position. Without being able to tell the time, he had no way of knowing how long they'd slept. The blindfold needed to come off where he could open his eyes for a while, but he would have to endure a little longer. His hand raised to Boruto's face, carefully checking to make sure his was still in place and it was.

It was morning he soon learned as the smell of sausage and pancakes drifted into the living room. Shikadai and Iwabe had decided not to disturb them and Kawaki was surprised at how well he slept in the recliner. Boruto had to be very tired, and he didn't wake up until Kawaki called to him, massaging his scalp until he was fully awake. They had breakfast together before Shikadai took Boruto away and after everyone was gone and the blindfold was off, Kawaki felt empty.


	6. A challenge

**Connection**

_Sometimes you need to look past what's on the outside to really see someone._

**Chapter Six**

A Challenge

* * *

Things weren't getting any easier to deal with, actually it was just the opposite. Just when they thought it couldn't get any harder, it did. The dates were coming more often but not often enough. Two each weekend was better than one every week and certainly better than one every two weeks. They did more arts and crafts on date eleven, this time with clay where they moulded different things for each other. Kawaki made Boruto a vase that had surprisingly turned out perfectly and Boruto created a small pot that was perfect for a plant—and the first thing Kawaki did was plant something in it.

They next day they had a date at Boruto's flat where they played a game of chocolate roulette that was more bad than good—but oh so amusing. And then a game of touch. They were told to focus on each other's features for once, to try and familiarize themselves with each other on a more personal level. Kawaki had no problem with that and would touch Boruto's face whenever he liked anyway, but he'd never really focused on it. Boruto though, had never _really _felt Kawaki's face like that and he was nervous.

Kawaki wanted to memorize every curve on that face and he was more than happy to go first. The best part, he could touch his face without the blindfold getting in the way of his hands. The catch, Shikadai was keeping a distant eye on them. Not that Kawaki gave a fuck, he would do whatever he pleased no matter who was watching.

Boruto bit his lip as Kawaki pulled the blindfold up from his eyes and over his head. He kept his eyes closed softly as both of Kawaki's hands cradled his face. His skin was so soft against the roughness of his hands. Kawaki focused on his eyebrows and temples before ghosting his fingertips over his closed eyes. He had long eyelashes and high cheekbones, a smooth nose and perfect, soft lips. Kawaki wanted to kiss him more than ever in that moment, but this was supposed to be a timed exhibition and before he was ready, it was Boruto's turn.

...

After getting his blindfold back in position, Boruto hesitantly reached out to remove Kawaki's blindfold. He was trying not to be nervous and instead focused on the excitement that was mixed in. This was something that he had wanted to do, brush his fingers along the lines of Kawaki's face. He was ready to know him on a deeper level and this time when he reached towards his face again, he didn't hesitate. He started with his strong jawline and his thumbs lingered on his cheeks.

Then they moved inwards to his lips and Boruto couldn't help smiling, teasing him just a little and wanting to capture them with his own. Next the tips of his fingers glided over his eyes and to his brow, gasping when he felt piercings on the right side, two hoops. It seemed Kawaki really was the bad boy type with piercings all over, first his ears and now his eyebrow. Boruto couldn't explain why, but it made him feel giddy. He ended up taking longer than Kawaki had and even went over his face twice.

It wasn't because he was intent on painting an image of the man. It was just something that Boruto found he really liked doing. He giggled when Kawaki's nose twitched since his light touch probably tickled, but he stopped before he made him sneeze. Once Kawaki's blindfold was back in place and Shikadai had made his exit, Boruto raised his hands again to cup Kawaki's jaw.

"I still have no idea what you look like." He confessed. "But I really like doing this."

"Me too." Kawaki smiled. "But I have a good idea about you."

"Oh yeah?" Boruto grinned, feeling Kawaki's smile as he held his face. "What's your verdict?"

"You're cute as fuck." He answered simply.

Boruto chuckled, knowing he should have seen that coming. "I'm sensing a theme here."

"I don't know what you mean."

"Sure you don't." He mused knowingly. His hands fell to his lap but soon reached for one of Kawaki's, playing with his fingers. "I can't wait for these blindfolds to come off. Not just because I want to see you, but because I want to see everything. Your house, your work and your favorite places to stop by . . . and I want to show you things too."

Kawaki nodded. "I want the same. I'm looking forward to all of that."

"There's something in particular I really want to show you." Boruto admitted.

"Really? Can you tell me about it?" Kawaki asked in wonder.

"It's something I've never shown anyone else." Boruto told him. "I don't want to ruin the surprise, but . . . it's special to me."

"Wow. I can't wait." Kawaki said, holding tighter to Boruto's hand. "That's really something, I feel special myself."

Remembering the date at Kawaki's house, Boruto brought his hand to his lips and kissed his fingers. "That's because you are."

"Stop it." Kawaki huffed, pouting, but he didn't dare pull his hand away.

"No." Boruto said cheekily before repositioning himself. "Hold me."

"Okay." He wrapped his free arm around Boruto and forced him to rest against him. "I can do this."

Boruto hummed. "Better."

"Hey, don't complain." Kawaki chuckled. "I hold you all the time."

"I'm saying it's better," He giggled, "now that I'm being held."

"Ah. Makes sense." Kawaki breathed. "You're all good now, huh?"

"Yep!"

That was more than Boruto could ever want. He didn't know it was something he loved so much, he hadn't ever asked any of his exes to do it. But when Kawaki held him he was surrounded by nothing but him, pressed against his solid chest and supported by his capable arms. Any man would be happy with that. The next date was laid back and easy going, but like it usually did with that pair things got interesting. They were sitting next to each other on Kawaki's patio, a bonfire keeping them warm.

They were just talking and telling stories, casually sipping on some beer. Boruto was a little worried about getting drunk again, but Kawaki assured him that he could handle it. Probably. Things took a turn though when he suggested they play truth or drink, dares out of the question considering their blindfolded state.

"Hmm, alright. Who should go first?" Boruto asked, moving the blanket further up his lap.

"You. Truth or drink?" Kawaki began, smiling to himself.

"Truth of course." Boruto grinned.

"Have you ever been in a serious relationship before?"

That was a tricky one. "Technically yes, but never longer than a few weeks. I would say the relationships were supposed to be serious, but they never were."

"I see." Kawaki hummed thoughtfully.

"Truth or drink?" Boruto asked.

"Truth."

He tilted his head back as he thought of a question. "Have you ever had a threesome and if so, did you like it?"

"A few. And yeah, it was alright." Kawaki answered honestly.

That sounded really hot, though it wasn't really Boruto's thing. "Ohh, interesting."

"Not really." Kawaki laughed. "Truth or drink?"

"Drink. I have another question." Boruto chuckled. He took a swig of his beer and then asked, "Truth or drink."

"Go ahead with your question, baby."

As always, the pet name threw him off balance and it wasn't just the beer making his face warm. "Okay. Do you only fuck men or are you interested in women too?"

"Well, men only. But I have fucked a few girls before. When I was young."

"Ohh. So you prefer men then? You wouldn't do a girl now?" He asked curiously. He was an open book and only did it with men, but he had no idea about Kawaki. It was fun learning new things about him.

"Yes I prefer men and no, I wouldn't. And you owe me for asking questions out of turn so you have to drink two."

Boruto sighed, but didn't argue. It was only fair. "Alright, I'm drinking. You're turn." He said and brought his beer back to his lips to drink.

"Truth or drink?"

He finished gulping down the two swigs before he answered. "Truth. Definitely truth."

Kawaki laughed and tilted his head towards the side as he thought of another question. "What's your favorite position to be fucked in?"

Boruto grew hotter than before, not expecting this turn of questioning but should have seen it coming. "U-um . . . well . . . on my side." He said. "But on my back is a close second . . ."

"Do you like it slow and easy?"

"Yeah . . . I do." He liked it hard and rough too, but he always came the hardest when it was dragged out.

"I assumed, since those positions are soft as fuck." Kawaki mumbled, wishing he could picture Boruto in those positions.

"Hey!" Boruto smiled, lighting hitting his arm. "You can go to town in those positions too. Don't get me wrong, I like it hot and steamy as much as the next guy, but I prefer to break it down . . .and break my partner." However, he loved to be taken apart as well.

"Mm. I can only imagine." Kawaki chuckled. "Truth or drink?"

"I'm pretty sure it's my turn." Boruto pointed out. "I want you to tell me. How do you prefer to do it?"

"I get a little rough and doggy is my favorite position."

Boruto smirked at that. "I can get behind that easy . . . and you can get behind me anytime."

"Well shit." Kawaki laughed. "Don't tempt me."

That was right, they had an agreement. "We have to be good." Boruto remembered. "Okay, your turn. Go ahead and ask because if I get going on this beer then I won't want to be good anymore."

"How good are you at giving head?"

Too bad that wasn't an invitation. "Never had any complaints before. My only real skill is my ability to use my mouth."

"Yeah?" Kawaki really wanted to find that out for himself. "What turns you on more than anything?"

Boruto bit his lip, really liking where this was going. "Some of it has changed since I met you . . . but usually . . . being pushed up against a wall."

"Really?" Kawaki cocked a brow, knowing he had done that before. "So you do like it rough."

Boruto remembered the very same incident. If it had lasted longer than it did, he knew his knees would have gone weak. "You didn't believe me before?" He laughed.

"I have doubts." Kawaki admitted.

"That makes sense. To be honest I haven't allowed myself to be so damn soft around anyone else." It was something a good number of his exes complained about. "And you? What turns you on more than anything else?"

"You." Kawaki teased before taking a sip of his beer.

Boruto grinned, hitting his arm again. "Come on, you can't say that. You'll end up putting ideas into my head."

"What ideas?" He asked curiously.

"That I could do whatever I want to your body and you would love it."

"Ah. Well that's true." Kawaki shrugged.

That was something he sure as hell was keeping on his mind. "Good to know . . . but I still want an answer."

"Answer to what?"

"Your dodging just makes me think it's something I can really take advantage of." Boruto mused. "Don't be coy, I wanna know."

"I'll drink." Kawaki said, raising his beer to chug on it.

"Kawaki!" Boruto whined.

"I already told you anyway. I was being honest."

Boruto wasn't sure he believed that, but it was sweet so he let it slide. Besides, it wasn't as if he wouldn't find out in time. "Alright . . . I forgot whose turn it is."

"Mine. Have you played with yourself since we met?"

_Whoa_. "I'll . . . I'll drink on that one." Boruto said and got right to it, taking a sip.

"Damn. How many times?" Kawaki asked in an amused tone, but he shook his head.

"Nuh uh, it's not your turn. Have you masturbated while thinking about me?"

"No. Because I haven't touched myself." It was a miracle.

"Fuck." Boruto cursed. How had he managed that? And would he survive when they finally did it?

"It hasn't been easy, but I'm going to make it. This is a record for me."

Boruto took his hand in his and gave it a squeeze. "Then I'll wait with you. From tonight onward I won't do anything so you won't have to do it alone."

"You don't need to do that. It's probably best for you to keep yourself up to date." Kawaki laughed. "But I still want to know how often you're doing it."

"I'm going to do it because I want to." Boruto said, but then added, "Although . . . I might have to stretch myself the night before or else I'll suffocate your dick."

"Shit. Let's change the subject. The game is over."

Boruto giggled and rested his head on his upper arm, counting it was a win. The rest of the night was tame and they settled back into the easy and relaxed atmosphere as before. Boruto almost fell asleep and Kawaki would have let him if it wasn't so cold out. He ushered him inside and let him curl up against his side on the couch. The fourteenth date was decided to be held at a coffee shop and the two of them were shown to a private booth. Kawaki went with a mocha frappe for his sweet tooth and Boruto almost got a hot chocolate, but he stuck with his favorite black coffee.

Like all the ones previous, it went well and they had a good time. However the number was always there on their minds. The final date was getting closer and closer and Boruto couldn't wait for the big reveal.

…

There were only six more dates before the blindfolds would be a thing of the past and it had become apparent to Kawaki that Boruto was more important to him than he ever thought anyone could be. He realized it easily whenever he was in town alone one day and some guy started making eyes at him. He was put off, a lot, something that never happened to him because Kawaki was used to attention. From both females and males, and on many occurrences.

The worst part was the guy fit exactly what Kawaki looked for in a guy, from his body type to his clean cut look and his youthful appearance. But it turned Kawaki off, it annoyed him and without meaning to, he'd said some pretty snide things to prevent the guy from coming at him anymore.

If it wasn't Boruto, Kawaki didn't want them.

He was frustrated about it and had called Boruto as soon as he got the chance, needing his help to cool off. Boruto was in the middle of driving home from showing a house, but he gladly chatted with Kawaki and managed to calm him down easily. By the time the call ended, Kawaki was feeling good as new.

To repay Boruto for his kindness, Kawaki wanted to get him a gift. He didn't know what to get him, but when he passed by a jewelry store in the mall, he wandered in. As soon as he walked by the watches, he stopped in his tracks and knew it was a good choice. Perfect. Very stylish, surely Boruto was a stylish guy . . . he had to be because that was what Kawaki liked and he really liked Boruto. He didn't wear a watch, at least not around Kawaki, but Kawaki was sure a nice watch would be fitting for him.

He made a choice without thinking about the price, choosing a white gold Rolex with a black face. If he was going to buy Boruto something, he wasn't going to buy him some useless, cheap shit. Besides, money wasn't anything to Kawaki, he had more than he could ever spend.

Kawaki had the watch gift wrapped in silver paper and had a pink bow tied around it, knowing Boruto was fond of the color. He'd written on the tag and left the mall, feeling much lighter than he had all day. Though he was excited, he would wait until after their next date to give Boruto the gift.

Unfortunately for the both of them, it would be too long before that next date arrived.

It was the next morning when Kawaki had a client call from the beach, wanting to meet with him about building a house right on the beach. It would be a big money build and Kawaki had no choice but to pack some clothes and leave out right away. He wasn't looking forward to it, knowing it would take him a while to discuss everything with the client and he had his architect tag along in hopes of speeding up the process.

The client wasn't awful, but they were very particular and in a hurry, so while Kawaki figured out dates and prices, the architect was hard at work. He had to spend three different days making plans only for the client to _hate _it—even though he'd made it everything they asked for.

It took another three days to come up with the plan the client couldn't turn down and then they tried to negotiate pricing. Kawaki wouldn't bend, because he knew how to factor in all the necessities and eventually the client agreed. There was still a lot of work to do and on top of having to keep in touch with his crews that were working on other houses, Kawaki barely had time to speak to Boruto. It was at night just before he went to sleep that he called him for a few minutes. Neither of them were happy about this. That was the first weekend they hadn't got to be with each other in weeks.

Another two weeks passed with Kawaki being at the beach, waiting on permits and getting everything together to get the build started. It was impossible for him to focus completely when he missed Boruto, but fuck, he missed him so much. What was worse, it had been so long since he'd had a piece of ass that he was beyond frustrated and becoming difficult to work with. His employees didn't know how to approach him and it was for the best if they didn't at all.

It was on a Thursday night when he finally made it home and Iwabe met him there. Kawaki didn't want to see him, he just wanted to be alone because he was pissed at nothing—at everything for no reason.

"Kawaki, welcome back." He greeted him, coming to help with his luggage.

"Whatever." Kawaki grumbled, carrying two of his three bags to his front door and setting them down to unlock it.

"Well, what's got you so mad?" Iwabe huffed, walking in behind Kawaki once the door was opened.

Ignoring the question, Kawaki dropped his bags in the living room and went in search of his weed. He'd left it in its designated box which he grabbed before walking out onto the back patio. Iwabe tagged along, silent until Kawaki had rolled and lit his joint.

"It's been a while, I wanted to come check in on you . . . See if you were up to a date this weekend. I already made sure Boruto was free."

"Yes." Kawaki quipped, knowing he needed to be around Boruto sooner rather than later.

"Great. I'll pick you up tomorrow after lunch." Iwabe smiled. "Are you so mad because you haven't been able to spend any time with him?"

Kawaki smoked on his joint for a few minutes before bothering to respond. "No."

"Holy shit . . . wait a damn minute." Iwabe gasped. "Kawaki, when's the last time you had sex?"

The question made him flinch, he didn't even want to think about it.

"Have you seriously been abstaining since you started dating Boruto? Fucking hell!" Iwabe laughed in elation, palming his face in his amazement. "No fucking way."

If you were going to do something, might as well do it right. "That's right." Kawaki told him, quickly returning to smoking. The weed was helping him relax, but his stomach was still uneasy. He needed to fuck, quickly.

"And you haven't tried to fuck Boruto?" Iwabe snickered. "Still gotta see his face first huh?"

It wasn't that. Not even close. "The challenge . . ."

Iwabe nodded in his happy amusement. "Nobody said you couldn't fuck each other. This is about it being more than that, because bonding is important but the sex is too. It's also about not judging a book by its cover. You two are always touching each other so it's not like you don't have any ideas, but at least you can't go by the face."

"Mm." Kawaki looked out across his yard and sighed. "I do want to see him . . . but I don't care what he looks like."

"This is some touching shit right now." Iwabe said, grinning broadly. "I'm so happy you won this bet, even if it's not over yet. You're not going to lose."

"Never." Kawaki smiled softly, knowing that he had won a lot more than he ever thought just by accepting this challenge.

**A/N:**

**Hello! Thanks for reading! **

**Reviews matter. We would love to know what you guys think of this story!**

**-kanatyy**


	7. Mutual Desires

**Connection**

_Sometimes you need to look past what's on the outside to really see someone._

**Chapter Seven**

Mutual Desires

* * *

Finally they would be able to be with each other for a while. Kawaki was dressed in his lounging pants and nothing more, currently sitting on his couch while listening to his many voicemails. He was taken by surprise when his front door burst open and he hung up the phone at Iwabe hurrying inside.

"I'm late!" He screeched, running over to Kawaki with a fresh blindfold that he quickly put over his eyes.

"What the hell, I'm not dressed!" Kawaki snapped, realizing he hadn't been paying attention to the time.

"No time, it won't matter. Today you'll just be hanging around here, I thought it would help you relax some."

"Damn you."

Kawaki set his phone on the end table and sighed. He should have had a shirt on. He wasn't safe in those pants either.

"You're welcome." Iwabe grinned and walked to open the door for Boruto and Shikadai who were walking up.

"No. Fuck, I just smoked . . . I'm high as hell."

Iwabe laughed at that. "This is the first time I've ever seen you nervous before. Calm down, it's just Boruto."

_Just? Just?! _Kawaki groaned as he rested his back on the couch. He was way too high to face Boruto at the moment—and he definitely wasn't dressed enough.

"It smells like weed in here." Shikadai's voice spoke. "Damn it, Iwabe, did you get Kawaki high?"

"What? Not this time! I just got here, he was already stoned." Iwabe huffed.

"Kawaki's high?" Boruto chuckled. "Must have been a rough trip. Hurry and take me to him so you can get lost."

Kawaki smiled at Boruto's words, agreeing completely. They didn't need those two bastards hanging around anymore than they already did.

"I see how it is." Shikadai laughed as he brought Boruto over.

Kawaki felt the couch dip as he sat down and waited until the two bastards left before he scooted closer. "I missed you." Boruto said, locating his hand and grabbing it.

"I missed you too. It's been a long time." Kawaki said, forcing himself to remain perfectly still.

"Yeah, it was really hard without you." Boruto confessed. "I still blame those clients, they were full of shit."

"Yes. It happens like that sometimes." Though it was unfortunate, it was just the way things were.

"I know . . . I've had to deal with people like that myself, but it doesn't make me any less upset." He sighed. "Not that it matters now since you're here."

"Yeah." Kawaki agreed, but still kept himself still.

Boruto giggled at his behavior. "So how high are you?" He asked and leaned over, gasping. "A-are you shirtless?"

" . . . Yeah. I'm high as fuck and I wasn't prepared."

He certainly wasn't prepared for this either. "Tell me about it . . . I um, this is . . . I don't know if I can resist touching you." He admitted, his hand already trailing up his arm.

"Tread very carefully." Kawaki warned, he wasn't in a good place to be touched.

Boruto wanted to tread all over, but he would do his best. "Okay . . . we should talk about something. To distract us."

"You say that and yet . . . your hand isn't stopping."

His hand had left his arm and was moving over his shoulder. "Hm? What did you say?"

Kawaki's head lolled back against the couch and he sighed. "Nothing." It wasn't like he really wanted Boruto to stop, it was just that he couldn't handle it.

"It's so different touching your skin . . ." Boruto said, spreading his hand over his chest and peck. "O-oh . . . it's so much more defined . . ." He could feel his face heating up and the feel of Kawaki's muscles made his stomach coil.

"Yeah, it is." Kawaki hummed, hoping Boruto kept his hand where it was.

Boruto had no such intention and greedily dragged his hand down Kawaki's abs. "Oh my god . . ." He breathed.

"Boruto." Kawaki called chidingly. "Stop."

"H-huh? Oh shit." He pulled his hand away and held it to his chest. "Kawaki . . . you're gonna have to put a shirt on . . . like right now . . . I don't have the self restraint for this."

"It's okay, just don't go too low." Kawaki told him, doubting he could find a shirt even in his own place with the blindfold on.

"No." Boruto shook his head. "I don't think you understand what I want to do to you right now."

"What . . . what do you want to do?" Kawaki asked, too high not to.

"This." He groaned and straddled Kawaki's lap. His lips went to Kawaki's shoulder and his hands trailed up his sides. "Fuck. I really can't stand it."

"Me either." Kawaki said, jaw tensing. "Really."

"Kawaki . . ." Boruto's hands felt along his torso all over again, this time bolder and more desperate. It was driving him crazy and he couldn't get enough, he had to touch him everywhere.

"Fuck. Stop." Kawaki ordered, tackling Boruto onto his back and pinning him down. "No."

Boruto's chest went up and down as he panted. "Damn . . . sorry . . ."

"No you're not." Kawaki grumbled, taking the opportunity to get a feel for himself. He moved his hand from Boruto's wrist, up his arm and to his chest. He could feel his fast beating heart but his hand didn't linger, too eager to trail downward.

"What are you-" Boruto cut himself off as he arched into the touch, turning his head.

Kawaki ignored him, too entranced by the lean, soft body beneath him. His hand reached the hem of Boruto's shirt and slipped under it, wanting to feel his skin as well. He wanted so badly to fuck Boruto until he couldn't move, but he also wanted to wait. It didn't seem possible when he felt so needy. It had to be the weed.

"We can't." Kawaki told himself as his hand rubbed across Boruto's hot skin, up to his chest.

"W-wait." Boruto stuttered as Kawaki's fingers brushed over his nipple. "Too good."

Kawaki breathed in slowly, trying to calm himself, but it wasn't easy. "I'm too fucking horny to be around you." He confessed, leaning down over Boruto to ghost his lips across his neck.

Boruto's free hand gripped his bicep as he bared his neck. "That . . . might go for both of us. Should we take a break . . . or . . ." _More._

Kawaki separated himself from Boruto, getting off the couch so quickly he almost gave himself whiplash. Boruto's words had pulled him out of the trance he was in and he was able to save himself. However, he was left with a problem and he wasn't the only one. Boruto sat up and took a moment to collect himself. That was a close one, _really _close.

"Okay . . . I take the blame on that one." Boruto said, knowing it was harder on Kawaki in his high as fuck state. Although- "You need to put a shirt on."

"Fine." Kawaki muttered, walking away and feeling for the wall that led to his hallway.

He didn't have too much trouble finding his room but he didn't know which shirt he grabbed. He shrugged it on as he made his way back down the hallway. He was frustrated, miserably so and even pouted when he took a seat back on the couch.

"If this keeps up, we'll have to find a solution." Boruto said, knowing the sexual tension would get worse and worse each time they met. "Even having dates back to back might not be enough."

"Hm." Kawaki frowned and leaned against the arm of the couch, resting his cheek in his hand.

"Some type of outlet . . ." Other than masturbation. "No sex . . . but maybe other things?" Otherwise they would either kill over or snap from frustration.

"What other things?" Kawaki sighed loudly. He couldn't even handle his own self at this point.

Boruto scooted back over and snuggled against him, but kept his hands to himself. "Things that will make us feel better. What do you want to do? I'm willing to try anything. It can be sexual."

"What?" Kawaki growled. "You're not helping me get out of this situation."

"I'm serious. We've got to do something."

"Like what? Damn it."

He started with the basics. "Handjobs, blowjobs, something to take the edge off before we lose our shit."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Kawaki groaned. "That's cheating."

"Shikadai and Iwabe can kiss my ass. As far as I'm concerned, as long as we don't look at each other or have sex then we did it."

"You don't want to wait?" Kawaki asked, feeling concerned.

Boruto was torn. "I do . . . but having you struggle like this . . . especially when I'm not helping by attacking you . . . I don't like it. I want to give you some kind of relief, no matter how small."

"Fuck. I don't know. Yes."

"Really?" Boruto asked, half expecting to be turned down.

"Yes." Kawaki repeated. "If I don't get off I'm going to go fucking insane."

Boruto smiled and reached up to stroke his cheek. "Alright. Just tell me what you want and I'll give it to you."

"Shit, take it easy on me. It's been _months_." Kawaki breathed, moving his arms to grab Boruto and pull him onto his lap. "First . . . If we're going to fuck around, I'm going to give in and kiss you."

To think something like that would make Boruto blush was embarrassing, but he couldn't help it. "K-kiss?"

"Yes." Kawaki raised his hands to Boruto's face, cradling his cheek with one hand while the other moved back to his hair. "Can I?"

Anticipation ran through his body. "Yes . . . please."

Kawaki didn't hesitate further, hand fisting Boruto's hair as he leaned in and captured his lips with his own. The first touch was soft and careful, a test to see how it was and it was more than Kawaki ever imagined. A groan rumbled in his throat as he kissed him again and again, lips hungrily moving against his. After a moment, he pulled back and licked his lips before grinning.

"You taste like fucking strawberries." Kawaki said, marveling at the fact.

Boruto was just able to suck in a shaky breath before Kawaki was kissing him again, wasting no time in deepening the kiss by slipping his tongue into his mouth. Boruto clutched at Kawaki's shirt at his shoulders, barely able to kiss back with Kawaki's desire at an all time high. He couldn't contain himself, he didn't want to, so he didn't try and stop himself from moving his hips and thrusting up under Boruto. He was achingly hard and more than anything just wanted to fuck him, but he could certainly settle for less for now.

Whimpering into the kiss, Boruto held onto his shirt tighter and melted atop Kawaki in no time at all. Kawaki never wanted to stop kissing those lips, but he didn't currently have the patience for it, so he pulled Boruto's hair to force his head back and trailed his lips down his throat, sucking and nipping at his skin until he moaned.

"Fuck." Kawaki growled, pushing Boruto down onto his back once again.

He couldn't wait, but he wouldn't mind getting Boruto off first. Control was out the window, completely forgotten as Kawaki grabbed the collar of Boruto's shirt and ripped the cloth in two.

Boruto gasped as a wave of arousal shot down his spine. "Shit." He had wanted to please Kawaki, but he was intent on having his way with Boruto's body. He was like an animal, wild and raw and Boruto loved it. He could feel himself going insane as everything in him screamed to match Kawaki's level. "Touch me. More, give me more."

Kawaki didn't have a problem with that, hands eager to touch every part of Boruto's body. He moved his legs between Boruto's, spreading them as his hands splayed out on his chest and slowly rubbed down his stomach. His skin was so smooth, Kawaki loved it. He took a moment to breathe when he reached his hips, thumbs pressing down at the start of his legs and rubbing their way back.

Leaning over him once more, Kawaki stole his lips in another hungry kiss while he unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans. He didn't try to push them down right away, instead he pressed his body down on him, grinding his erection against Boruto's.

"Ah, yes!" Boruto moaned, breaking the kiss and trailed his hands over Kawaki's muscles again. Not being able to see heightened their senses, but the fact that they were doing this with each other was what really got Boruto going. He thrusted his hips in time with Kawaki's, marveling at the difference in the sizes of their members. "Fuck, so big."

Kawaki opted to keep his lips at Boruto's neck so he could hear all the sensual sounds that fell from his mouth. He focused on his throat, alternating between sucking and kissing while his hand roamed and his hips moved constantly. Boruto was in pure bliss having the man that meant so much to him ravishing his body. He was unable to resist the temptation and shoved his hand between them and into Kawaki's thin lounge pants, grabbing Kawaki's dick. His fingers curled around the hard flesh and stroked up to the tip with a firm squeeze.

"Fuck," Kawaki dragged out in a growl and reached down to palm Boruto's through his jeans.

Boruto bit his lip as a groan rumbled in his chest. He had waited for forever to have Kawaki's hand on him and it was better than he thought. He continued to stroke and squeeze Kawaki's cock while his free hand threaded into his hair right below the blindfold, tugging his head over so his ear was next to his lips.

"Gonna make you come first." Boruto moaned, taking the lobe into his mouth like he had done once before.

Kawaki shuddered and pulled himself back, ignoring Boruto's muttered protest as he got off the couch to push his pants and briefs down.

"Come here," Kawaki breathed as he sat back on the couch, trying to be patient but fuck, he'd never been so hard before.

Boruto sat up and crawled over, stretching himself along the couch once his hand found Kawaki's lap. "Mmm, want me to suck you? Swallow you whole?" He asked, hand gripping the base of Kawaki's member.

"Fuck yes. Don't tease me." Kawaki said, hand quickly moving to the back of Boruto's head and gripping his hair along with the blindfold.

"I won't." Boruto promised and got comfortable, resting on his stomach.

His other arm draped over Kawaki's thigh so he could reach his sack, fondling the balls before he took the tip of his dick into his mouth. He worked his tongue and got Kawaki nice and wet, the hand at the bottom of his length moving up and down in firm strokes. The hand in Boruto's hair tightened its grip and a long groan left Kawaki's throat. Boruto had said moments ago that he wouldn't tease and he wasn't. But he was lost in Kawaki's taste and simply sucked for a little bit before he went on.

He inched more of Kawaki between his lips and started bobbing his head to give him more pleasure. While he was good at head, he didn't particularly crave it, but like most things Kawaki changed that. The more grunts and stuttering breaths that he let out, the more Boruto wanted to shove him over the edge. He sucked harder and harder, swirling his tongue to capture and spread Kawaki's pre-cum. He let up on his balls and removed his hand from his cock, taking a deep breath through his nose before he went down on him.

Kawaki's head fell back against the back of the couch and it took everything in him not to thrust up into Boruto's mouth. Boruto relaxed his throat, his gag reflex welcoming the challenge of Kawaki's member. He continued to suck his way down until he swallowed him whole just like he said he would. He held still for a few seconds before bobbing his head again and bringing his hand back to Kawaki's sack, pulling on them but not enough to hurt. He was eager to taste more, to make Kawaki come and call out his name.

His jaw was pushed to the limit, having never taken someone of his size, but it didn't hinder him in the slightest. Boruto could feel how close Kawaki was getting by the way he twitched, both in his mouth and in his hand. Kawaki was at a loss, so overwhelmed by how sensitive he was to this moment, how easily Boruto has brought him to the edge. He didn't care, he didn't want to put it off—he had to come. Almost sensing his thoughts, Boruto picked up his pace and kept his balls in a tight grip, urging him to let it all out.

He dragged his tongue all the way up and then back down, caressing each and every part of Kawaki's dick. Less than a minute more of Boruto's hot mouth and tight throat had Kawaki coming undone.

"Shit. _Fuck_. I'm coming." Kawaki growled, both hands forcing Boruto down on him as his hips thrusted up.

Boruto froze and kept both his jaw and throat relaxed, impressed Kawaki had held back until now. He let Kawaki use his mouth as he came and came. Soon Boruto couldn't taste anything but him and he loved it. He greedily swallowed everything Kawaki had pent up, his hand releasing his tight grip on his sack and began to massage it instead, coaxing him through his orgasm. He only pulled off once Kawaki had completely stilled and forced himself into a sitting position, licking his lips.

"Damn, Boruto." Kawaki groaned.

"Tell me about it." Boruto grinned.

Kawaki chuckled, the relief at finally releasing making him feel ten times lighter. "Now, you." He said softly. "How do you want it?"

Boruto climbed onto his lap and wrapped his arms around his neck, resting his head on his chest. "I want your hand."

"That's it?" Kawaki asked as his hands moved to Boruto's back and trailed down to his ass.

"Y-yeah." He breathed, his own need to come catching up with him.

Kawaki's hands groped his backside, getting acquainted with it for the first time. "You want it on your dick, or here?" He questioned, spreading his cheeks and rubbing his hand between them firmly.

"There, fuck, right there." Boruto whined and arched his back.

"Mm." Kawaki was more than likely going to be wound up all over again at this rate, but he didn't care. "Okay, baby." He said, holding onto Boruto as he laid him back gently and then moved back to remove his jeans and underwear.

Kawaki's hands traveled over Boruto's thighs momentarily after spreading them and then he pushed his legs up, scooting down to move his mouth to Boruto's entrance. The surprised gasp that escaped him had Kawaki grunting but he didn't have the patience to try and tease Boruto. He wanted him wet enough to finger him to orgasm and so he was quick to run his tongue around his rim.

"Ah! W-wait." Boruto moaned loudly, hands gripping onto anything he could reach. He didn't know why, perhaps because his mind was a little foggy, but he hadn't expected Kawaki to use his tongue. "I'm . . . I'm sensitive there."

Kawaki was counting on that and he wasn't going to stop. His tongue teased Boruto's entrance, wetting it thoroughly before he pushed his tongue against it firmly. That only earned him more lewd moans from Boruto, which he loved. He ate him out for another couple minutes before pulling back and bringing his fingers to his mouth, coating them in his saliva as well. Then he leaned back down, his index finger slowly entering Boruto while he sucked the skin just beneath his sack.

Boruto writhed, panted and whimpered and Kawaki moved his finger in and out a few times before adding the second. He was tight enough that Kawaki wasn't sure he'd survive fucking him, but he damn sure couldn't wait to try. He pressed his two fingers in firmly and curled them upwards, finding his prostate instantaneously.

Curses and moans steadily came from Boruto and Kawaki stimulated the sensitive spot inside of him over and over while kissing his way over Boruto's balls and up his member. Boruto started to complain—to try and stop him but he wouldn't. With his fingers moving so knowingly, Kawaki took him into his mouth, going down on him with ease.

It had been years since Kawaki sucked anyone's dick, but he wanted to do it for Boruto, and doing it with a combination of his fingers, it wouldn't take long at all for him to come. Boruto's words failed him as Kawaki's hand moved faster and he sucked harder, making it hard for him to breathe at all. It was too much like this, both his mouth and his hand working together. Plus he was already so worked up anyway. Barely a few minutes passed before he was on the verge and begging Kawaki not to stop.

As if he would. Kawaki took all of him into his mouth, fingers expertly hitting that spot inside of him repeatedly until he screamed, pulling tight to Kawaki's hair as he came. Kawaki milked him, pressing against his prostate harder and sucking him thoroughly all the way up, licking him clean along the way.

Boruto was a breathless and quivering mess and Kawaki wished he could see the mess he'd made of him. They were growing closer and closer, but he needed more. So much more.


	8. Outside

**Connection**

_Sometimes you need to look past what's on the outside to really see someone._

**Chapter Eight**

Outside

* * *

"I don't know what happened, just that he had to cancel. You haven't talked to him?"

Kawaki frowned at the question, having just been told his date with Boruto for the night wouldn't be happening. Boruto hadn't called him to tell him that and when they spoke on the phone the night before, he had been looking forward to the date, so Kawaki didn't understand. He got off the phone with Iwabe though to call Boruto and see if everything was okay, not prepared in the least for the call to be answered by another man.

"Hello?" A much deeper voice than that of Boruto's spoke across the line. Taken aback as he was, Kawaki couldn't form any words right away. "Hellooo?"

"Where is Boruto?" Kawaki asked quietly, he wouldn't let himself assume anything. He would not.

"Can't come to the phone. He's getting in the shower." The man said and Kawaki's face fell.

"At home?" He wondered aloud.

"No, he's here at my house and he's going to be busy. So don't try and bother him."

Kawaki's lips parted and he slammed his phone down on his kitchen counter, shattering the screen and effectively ending the call. He breathed in shakily, heavily, gripping the edge of the counter with both hands. Never had he expected something like this to happen. Boruto wouldn't do this to him . . . he couldn't. But he was.

He should have fucked him. The opportunity had been there so many times and yet Kawaki refrained. He wanted to wait, for once in his life and it tested him like nothing else ever had . . . and Boruto was tired of waiting. Their little getting off experience hadn't been enough. It made sense, Kawaki understood because it was difficult. Boruto couldn't see him and neither of them had had sex in so long now . . . but Kawaki couldn't accept it. He wouldn't blame himself when they were _so _close.

Had it all been meaningless? Had Kawaki been mistaken by thinking Boruto actually did care about the real him? Of course. Nobody wanted him for _him. _Even without seeing his face, Boruto could tell a lot about Kawaki by his body. That was all that mattered. The challenge meant nothing, he just needed to prove he could date blindly for a while. Now, he had someone he could see and fuck and not have to put up with them without those luxuries.

The crushing weight Kawaki felt on his chest was unlike anything he had ever felt before and more than that, his rage frightened even him. He'd never been so wounded, _ever. _He'd never been so livid. Right now, he couldn't trust himself. All he could do was smoke to try and calm himself down, it wasn't working and his mood only worsened after Shikadai showed up at his house.

_Believe nothing that you hear and only half of what you see. _

…

Boruto was in a deep sleep when the sound of someone knocking on his door woke him up. He had been up late the previous night talking on the phone with Kawaki, eager for date number eighteen. He dragged himself out of bed and went into the living room. The knocking grew louder and whoever it was was insistent. It soured Boruto's mood and he knew it better not be Shikadai or else he was going to punch his ass. Once he reached the front door he looked through the peephole, eyes widening when he saw his ex. Well, his last and latest ex before the whole blinddate thing started.

With a scowl, Boruto opened the door. "What do you want?"

"Hey, no need to sound so angry." Mitsuki said. "I thought you might like some company . . . that is if your boyfriend of the week doesn't mind."

Damn, Boruto really had been shallow . . . and maybe a little bit of a slut. "Fuck off, I'm not interested in your booty call."

"Now sweetpea, we both know you don't mean that."

Boruto hated that nickname. "What part of no do you not understand? What's with you, showing up out of nowhere after all this time. The last time I saw you I'm pretty sure you told me to take my bitch ass and jump off a bridge."

Mitsuki shrugged, smiling that crooked smile of his that used to run shivers down Boruto's spine. "What can I say? You weren't that much of a nice guy yourself, breaking up with me and saying I might as well cut it off because I don't know how to use it."

"You got nasty with me first, Mitsuki." Boruto reminded. "I wasn't about to be some quiet baby that only spoke when they were spoken to. You tried to tell me how to act and how to look so I kicked your ass to the curb."

"That's because you don't know what's good for you. We had a great thing going and I tried to move on, I thought I was done with you. " He said and trailed his eyes up and down Boruto's body. "But no one forgets a body like yours, sweetpea. I can make you perfect, give you everything you want. All you have to do is say yes."

Boruto rolled his eyes, having heard this kind of shit come out of his mouth more times than he could count. "I'm not doing this with you, the answer is no. Now get lost before you piss me off." He said and moved to slam the door closed, but Mitsuki wasn't having it and stepped in. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"What I should have done in the first place, Boruto." He said and closed the door behind himself. "I need to teach that mouth when to shut up."

Boruto never thought of Mitsuki as dangerous, but he didn't like the way he was looking at him, not at all. He narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to speak, but Mitsuki was on him in the next instant. He grabbed Boruto by his waist and started tugging him further into the flat. Boruto shouted and began kicking his legs, trying to break free from his hold and punched his face. But Mitsuki was a determined bastard and he wouldn't let go, his grip like iron. He tossed Boruto into the bedroom and then wiped his arm over his face where Boruto had punched him.

"You fucking psycho!" Boruto yelled from the floor before he got to his feet.

Mitsuki was ready when Boruto lunged at him and he caught him by his hair, kneeing him in the stomach. Boruto fell to his knees with a gasp, but Mitsuki was far from done.

He pulled Boruto's head back with a thin smile. "It would be a shame to mess up that pretty face, wouldn't it? So how about you play nice, hm?"

He kneed him in the stomach once more and let him fall to the floor, leaving Boruto struggling to breathe. The sound of a phone ringing caught Mitsuki's attention and he was quick to locate Boruto's cell phone. He frowned when he saw the caller id, Shikadai. He tossed the phone on the bed and let it ring, going back over to his ex.

"I hate to see you like this, I really do." Mitsuki sighed. "Let me ask you again, alright sweetpea? Are you going to be good?"

"Bite me you fucking bastard!" Boruto hissed, forcing the words out as he clutched his stomach. His ex was a lot stronger than he remembered.

"And you continue to be difficult. Oh well." Mitsuki said and yanked Boruto to his feet, dragging him to the bathroom. The style of Boruto's flat was old, he was fond of the way things looked, but he regretted that decision now. All the interior doors had old fashioned locks. "You stay in here until you change your mind." Mitsuki said as he forced him inside, pulling the door closed and taking the key after he locked it.

Boruto leaned against the tub and cursed. This was what he got for sleeping around, taking whoever looked good even though they could turn out like Mitsuki. His ex couldn't keep him in here forever and surely people would come looking for him. The bathroom didn't have any windows and the spaces between the apartments in his building went by floor, though sound didn't travel that well either. Sometimes having the finer things in life was a pain in the ass. Boruto would have to bide his time until someone came for him, but if he got a chance to escape or gain the upper hand then he would.

Little did he know that Mitsuki was making things more difficult. He had picked up Boruto's phone again, reading the text message Shikadai left about some date that his ex was apparently going to. Deciding to nip that in the bud, he typed in Boruto's password that he had seen him enter multiple times before and typed a response. He said that something important came up and he wouldn't be able to make it, but he would explain everything later. Boruto wasn't a complicated person and Mituski had been around him enough to imitate the way he spoke. After he saw that Shikadai took the bait, he put the phone in his pocket along with the bathroom key, leaving the bedroom to make himself at home.

It wasn't that much longer before Boruto's phone rang again while Mitsuki was sitting on the couch with his feet on the coffee table. He didn't recognize the caller id, someone named K. He wasn't sure if he should wait for them to text as well, but decided to risk it because of the weird name. It was easy to figure out what was going on, this K person was Boruto's new boyfriend of the week. He went ahead and ruined whatever relationship they had, Boruto's were never deep anyway and would break easily. It didn't take much effort at all and the call was short, lasting less than two minutes.

Mitsuki planned out what he was going to do next and made himself something to eat before he went to check on Boruto. He knocked on the door and asked if he was ready to behave and come out. Boruto was as stubborn as always, that nasty mouth of his a habit Mitsuki really needed to change for him. He left Boruto to think about his choices for a while longer and finished eating his food. Thirty more minutes passed and Mitsuki had everything thought out. If Boruto still wanted to be difficult then he would have to set him straight. Just as his hand turned the knob to the bedroom door the front door opened. He spun around, seeing Shikadai walk in with someone he didn't recognize.

"What the fuck?" Shikadai spoke lowly when he spotted him. "What are you doing in here, Mitsuki? Where's Boruto?"

Damn, so he hadn't fallen for the text a hundred percent. "He's not here right now, left to go get some drinks. I stopped by and . . . well, you know how Boruto is."

"You're a goddamn liar. You told me on the phone that Boruto was with you at your place." Kawaki hissed every word, walking through the living room on his way to the bastard. "What the fuck did you do to him?"

Well this wasn't looking good. Mitsuki hadn't expected the stranger to be the same one he spoke on the phone with. "Come on, no need to be so angry. I was only telling you what Boruto told me to in case anyone called. You're the boyfriend, right? He doesn't open his heart to anyone, just takes what he wants and then leaves. I know from experience. He's no good for you."

"You don't know shit." Kawaki growled, reaching out quickly and grabbing the white haired guy by his throat. "Shikadai, find Boruto."

"Right." Shikadai walked past them and started with the bedroom where Mitsuki had been headed.

"If I find out you hurt him, I can't say you'll make it out of here alive." Kawaki threatened, squeezing his throat as he held him in place.

It seemed he was cornered. This K person was quite a big guy and he wouldn't be able to put up a fight in his current position. He could think up another lie, but he knew Shikadai would find Boruto.

"Alright, you got me." Mitsuki said calmly. "I was lying about everything. Boruto wasn't too happy to see me and threw a few punches as you can see. I had no other choice than to lock him in the bathroom for my own safety."

"So you did hurt him?" Kawaki breathed shakily, rage and adrenaline coursing through him.

Shikadai came out of the bedroom, his own face twisted in anger. It wasn't obvious to those that didn't know him well, but he was pissed. "Give me the key, Mitsuki. Or else I'll murder your ass and make it look like an accident."

"Key." Kawaki said, tightening his grip on Mitsuki's throat. "Give him the goddamn key."

"E-easy." Mitsuki voiced, struggling to breathe. "Can't do it if I'm dead." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the key, Boruto's phone falling out and hitting the floor.

"You conniving piece of shit." Shikadai snatched the key out of his hand and picked up Boruto's phone before heading back into the bedroom.

"You fucked with the wrong guy today, shithead." Kawaki laughed darkly, choking his prey with the same hand.

Mitsuki could no longer say anything and his face went from red to blue as his oxygen was cut off completely. Never had Kawaki felt like this, so consumed with the need to hurt someone. Even watching the life leave the bastard's eyes, Kawaki felt no remorse. But he was worried enough about Boruto to let the guy crumble on the floor after he passed out. He didn't give a damn about the challenge anymore, he just cared about Boruto and needed to see with his own eyes that he was safe.

Boruto was captured in a tight hug when the bathroom door opened, his friend shaking. "Fuck, Boruto. I just can't let you out of my sight, can I?

Boruto chuckled and held Shikadai just as tightly. "Yeah, sorry. I knew you'd get here. Thanks."

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." Boruto lied. His stomach still hurt, but it wasn't a big deal. He heard a thud from outside the bedroom door and frowned. "Uh, what was that . . . and what happened with that bastard?"

Shikadai released him and scratched his head. "Well . . ."

The bedroom door opened and a tall man came walking in. Boruto was taken aback by the handsome specimen that was in his flat for some reason, not recalling him as an ex. He would have remembered. Not that it mattered, Boruto already had a man, one that he was supposed to have gone on a date with. He really needed to find his phone and apologize to Kawaki.

"Um, can I help you?" Boruto asked the man and then whispered to Shikadai, "Why the hell are you letting strangers in my place?"

"Shikadai, get the fuck out."

Boruto's attention snapped back to the man, not fully believing he heard such a familiar voice come from his lips. "Ka . . . Kawaki?" He whispered, not noticing Shikadai make his exit.

Kawaki walked over to Boruto, his eyes finally taking in the face that he had longed to see. His hands moved to Boruto's cheeks and he sighed. "Are you alright?"

Boruto nodded, not able to find his voice. He couldn't take his eyes off of the man in front of him and his hands came up to clutch at his shirt, tears suddenly spilling down his face.

"You're alright. I've got you." Kawaki promised, moving his arms around Boruto to pull him into a hug.

"I-it's you." Boruto finally got out, not knowing why he was crying, but he was happy. So unbelievably happy. "It's really you."

"Shit happened . . . sorry to end our blind games early." Kawaki mused, pulling him back to get another look at him. "It's really you too."

"It's alright." Boruto laughed. "Just let me look at you." He wrapped his arms around Kawaki's waist, not letting him go anywhere anytime soon. "Aren't you the handsome fellow."

Kawaki smirked at that, grey eyes lighting up as they stared into Boruto's blue ones. "You think so? I can finally see that you are in fact cute as fuck."

Boruto smiled widely, not caring if his face was a mess and his blond hair was sticking up everywhere. "Thank you."

"So then you're not disappointed?" Kawaki asked, one hand running through Boruto's blonde hair.

"Not at all." Boruto answered, reaching one hand up to feel the edges of Kawaki's black undercut. "I think you're wonderful . . . though I was already biased." He teased.

"Relatable." Kawaki hummed. "I really didn't care what you'd look like, but I can't deny how impressed I am. I think I got lucky with you, baby."

Boruto blushed at the pet name, but didn't look away. "I think so too. I'm lucky to have you."

"Are you really okay? He didn't hurt you?" Kawaki asked, trying not to get anymore distracted by Boruto's adorable features and then those lips, he couldn't even look.

"He hit me a few times, but it's not that bad." He said and then furrowed his brow, putting two and two together. "Wait . . . did you?" Where was Mitsuki and that thud . . .

"I didn't kill him. But I wanted to." Kawaki admitted before leaning down to kiss Boruto on the forehead. "We should go make sure Shikadai is handling things alright."

Boruto nodded, more than ready to have Mitsuki's ass thrown in jail. The bastard wasn't dead, but Kawaki had knocked him out cold which Boruto was extremely proud of, feeling like his honor was defended. While it was a little sad that they didn't make it the full twenty dates, it didn't really matter. Shikadai and Iwabe could rub it in their faces all they wanted, not that they would at this point, but Boruto was happy. He had a great guy with him that was everything he wanted in a man. No, he was everything and _more_. Kawaki was something he didn't know he needed until he had him and he was never letting go.

…

This was totally unexpected. It was supposed to be a regular date day, they only had two left and the anticipation had been at an all time high, but the reveal came sooner than expected. It came so suddenly and being concerned as he was, Kawaki didn't even have time to observe Boruto at first. Sure he'd looked at him, knowing when he saw him that it was in fact Boruto because it couldn't be anyone else. Kawaki expected him to be cute, but he never thought he'd be near perfection.

He was Kawaki's type in every way possible. He did have a thing for blondes and those blue eyes were endearing. He had adorable features and his face as good as the rest of him. Kawaki knew he was lucky as fuck and he was happy to be with Boruto. It didn't matter how he looked, not at all, but Kawaki was thankful to finally be able to see him.

After the incident, there was no way in hell that Kawaki was going to leave Boruto alone and figuring he wanted to get out of his flat after what happened, Kawaki asked him to come to his house. It was strange, even sitting next to him in his truck and Kawaki's eyes kept drifting to their clasped hands resting on the center console. This was a whole new experience. The built up reveal did not leave him feeling down, nothing had changed except for the fact that they could now do so much more together and Kawaki was looking forward to it.

Boruto couldn't stop smiling and kept stealing glances at Kawaki, though he tried not to be too obvious. He was so cute all over, Kawaki just couldn't stand it and he dared either of their annoying friends to even think about stepping in. They had their fun, now Kawaki was done with them. He wanted to be able to enjoy some time privately with Boruto since they could now easily take care of themselves.

"Oh shit!" Boruto exclaimed when they pulled up to Kawaki's house. "You seriously built this?!"

Kawaki smiled as he parked in his garage and looked over at Boruto. He still couldn't get over the fact that he could see him at all. He just kept getting cuter. "These hands really know what they're doing."

Boruto giggled and gave Kawaki a smirk. "I know that from experience."

"Mm. You did have a preview, didn't you?" Kawaki mused. "Well let's get inside so you can explore and I'll cook something."

"Okay!" Boruto agreed, feeling really energized and giddy for some reason. He was excited to see everything and admire Kawaki's work.

They got out of the truck, Kawaki taking Boruto's bag for him and then his hand as he led him inside. He felt relieved finally, knowing Boruto was safe and with him so nothing could happen to him. When they walked in, stepping into the kitchen first, Kawaki set the bag on the table and gave Boruto another smile.

"You can look around, make yourself at home. I'll get started."

"Alright." Boruto grinned and quickly left a soft peck on Kawaki's cheek before he wandered off.

"Shit." Kawaki sighed to himself, knowing he was in deep with this one and he couldn't have been happier about it.

Getting right to it, Kawaki busied himself with preparing dinner and let his mind drift. He couldn't stop picturing Boruto now that the image of him was imbedded into his mind and he was fine thinking of him, he just wouldn't let himself think of what had happened and what could have happened. He'd calmed down now and wanted to forget all about that and concentrate solely on spending time with his cute little Boruto. _His. _

Dinner was coming along nicely and Kawaki was still smirking to himself at the thought of Boruto. Even the way he padded throughout the house was adorable. Kawaki wondered how he could be so taken with someone, but he was nothing but happy about it. He was leaning against the counter, patiently waiting on the food when Boruto came back, bouncing over to him with a big grin on his face that had Kawaki's face softening further. He was so fucking weak for him.

"It's amazing!" Boruto praised. "And huge as fuck! How long did it take you to build it all?"

"Hm. A few months I believe." Kawaki answered thoughtfully, wracking his brain to make sure he was being honest. "I'm not exactly sure."

"Whoa. It's really great." He said and then added with a smaller but softer smile, "You hung up my painting."

"I told you I did." Kawaki chuckled. "Did you think I was lying? I really love it."

Boruto shook his head, laughing. "I did believe you, but when I saw it for myself, I couldn't believe it. It's _really_ ugly."

"Watch it. Don't go hating on my baby's masterpiece." Kawaki chided him teasingly. "I'm very proud."

Boruto laughed again, this time harder and it ended with a snort. "I apologize."

"So fucking cute." Kawaki groaned and forced his attention to the stove so he didn't jump on Boruto's ass.

Another thing Boruto couldn't believe was that Kawaki actually _liked_ it when he snorted, but his constant approval didn't make him self conscious about it anymore. "Smells good. Is it almost done?"

"Yes. About five more minutes. You can go ahead and help yourself to something to drink." Kawaki wanted Boruto to feel at ease in his home and not think he had to ask for anything.

"Okay." He said and glided over to the fridge. "Do you want anything?"

"Surprise me."

The sound of Boruto pulling things from the fridge and searching the cabinets sounded from behind him, but Kawaki didn't look over his shoulder to see what he was doing until he heard the blender. Boruto was mixing something and had a little collection going on the counter, causing Kawaki to raise a brow. He didn't say anything, however, and turned back to the food.

He must have been making something special for real and Kawaki was curious for sure. He kept his attention on the food, just needing a few more minutes. He was absentmindedly stirring one of the pots when Boruto suddenly popped up beside him with a drink in his hand.

"What did you make?" Kawaki asked as he stared at the light blue icy looking drink.

"A little something my mom taught me." Boruto replied. "Have a taste."

"Thank you." Kawaki took the drink with a smile and had a swallow. "Mm. Sweet. But . . . is that . . . liquor?"

"Yep." Boruto chuckled, picking up his own drink that was a bright pink. "Not a lot, but it's in there. I made yours really sweet and mine really fruity." He informed and had a sip of his own before adding, "Actually, do you wanna taste mine too?"

"It looks strawberry as fuck. Yeah, I want a taste." Kawaki smiled, leaning over to suddenly capture Boruto's lips in a kiss, quickly sliding his tongue into his mouth for a taste just like he wanted. He hummed when he pulled back, too soon for Boruto. "It's better than I thought it would be."

Boruto licked his lips, cheeks darkening. "You're welcome to have more."

"Better not. Can't go getting drunk so soon." Kawaki mused, lips pulled into a smirk. "Though it's very tempting."

More than tempting and Boruto wanted to test his patience, but he held off. "Maybe after dinner?"

"_Maybe._"

The food finally was ready and Kawaki told Boruto to sit at the table while he fixed their plates and carried them over. He had learned during their dinner dates what Boruto did and didn't eat for the most part and he was confident Boruto would enjoy the quick meal he'd prepared. Once they were both sitting at the table, Kawaki had a few sips of his drink. While it was in fact sweet, it was strong too and he wondered if his cute little blonde was trying to get him drunk.

"Do you really feel okay?" Kawaki asked, unable to forget that Boruto has been through quite the ordeal today. They were both happy to be together and have this new experience together, but he couldn't ignore the fact that Boruto had been attacked today.

Boruto's hand went to his stomach where Mitsuki had kicked him. "A bit achy, but I'm alright. I'm tougher than I look." He told Kawaki. It only hurt if he moved a certain way, but he wasn't sure if it had bruised or not. He had been in too much of a rush to get changed and packed to look.

"It's your stomach?" Kawaki frowned. "What did he do to you?"

Boruto didn't want him to start worrying, but he wanted to be truthful and he had already told him that Mitsuki hit him. "Just kicked me a couple of times. That was all, he didn't do anything else before he shut me in the bathroom."

"Kicked?" Kawaki hissed. "Who the fuck was that bastard anyway?"

_Uh oh._ "My . . . my last ex. I didn't know he was a fucking psycho, but there you go. I have great taste in men, don't I?" Boruto quipped, staring down at his plate. Kawaki was the exception, he had horrible taste.

"It's not your fault." Kawaki sighed. "I can't say I'm any better . . . I've never spent any time with anyone though. Never took a chance to learn anything about anyone I've ever fucked." He mumbled before finally picking up his fork to eat.

"But we're both different now, I think." Boruto said and dug in as well, feeling better about the situation. "Although, I still want those two dates you owe me, blindfolded or not."

"You'll get more than two." Kawaki assured him after swallowing the bite of food in his mouth.

Boruto's eyes lit up. "I can't wait!"

"There's so much more we can do now." He smiled, having another sip of his drink. "So many possibilities."

Boruto quickly raised his glass as a toast, giggling. "I'll drink to that."

"Careful if your drink is as strong as mine." Kawaki said, knowing Boruto was a lightweight.

"If?" Boruto repeats, smirking before he takes another drink. He was teasing, he knew, but he wanted to see if Kawaki could catch on to his little game.

"Does that mean it is?" He questioned. "I don't want you getting drunk and passing out on me."

Boruto shook his head. "I won't." He assured and added, "And they have a bit of liquor, so we'll have a good buzz at least." Maybe more than that for Kawaki, he wasn't sure how much it would take to get him drunk.

"It will probably hit me harder because I'll smoke after we eat. If you don't care."

"Ohh. I don't mind." Boruto said and went back to eating, anticipation running down his spine. They had only fucked around once and that was when Kawaki was high. Having him a little drunk and high would be interesting to say the least. He only felt slightly guilty that he was taking advantage.

"Okay." Kawaki thought Boruto may have sounded a little excited there, but he figured he was just imagining things.

They finished eating and then washed the dishes together, even though Kawaki told Boruto he didn't need to help. They'd finished their drinks, but Boruto made Kawaki and himself another before they walked out onto the back patio together so Kawaki could smoke.

Boruto snuggled close against him just as he always would and the closeness had long since become something Kawaki craved. He'd set his drink on the glass table in front of him so he would have a free hand to rest on Boruto's leg.

"You really don't mind staying with me?" Kawaki asked when he was about halfway finished with his joint. He hadn't given Boruto much of a choice and was only realizing that now.

"Not at all." He hummed contently. "I wanted to be around you . . . I needed you with me."

"Needed?" Kawaki repeated in a whisper. Though he didn't know what to make of how that made him feel, he knew he liked it and said nothing more as he brought the joint back to his lips.

"Yeah . . . it's funny, you know? How in the moment you can be anything, brave, pissed, your mind constantly thinking . . ." Boruto trailed. "But then after the fact you look back and think, fuck, that was some scary shit." He hadn't panicked in his time alone in the bathroom, but he knew that if he had stayed alone after the whole ordeal the fear would have snuck up on him.

"Definitely some scary shit." Kawaki agreed. He had been scared, but he'd been more angry than anything. "I can't handle that kind of thing happening. Ever again." He would keep Boruto with him everyday before he let that happen.

"Me either." He said and took a sip of his drink. "Come to think of it, I never thanked you, did I?" He realized and looked up at him. "Thank you, Kawaki."

"I think you're cute enough without all that shit." Kawaki huffed. "You don't need to thank me. I didn't do anything."

"Yes you did!" Boruto smiled. "You stormed the castle with the loyal knight, Shikadai, and saved the prince from the completely insane bastard dragon that was all fire and no burn."

"Cute synopsis. But . . ." Kawaki trailed off, feeling guilty for the thoughts he'd had before Shikadai got a hold of him. "I thought you left me for that bastard."

Boruto rested back against Kawaki's shoulder as he took in his words. "Can't say that wasn't a logical conclusion . . ." Shikadai had filled him in and returned his cell phone. " . . . but it was stupid. I'm crazy about you, more than I have been about anyone else. You can take that to the bank and cash it."

"Yeah?" Kawaki smiled and took another draw off his joint. "I thought so too but then . . . I couldn't help doubting everything for a moment. I figured maybe you got tired of being with someone you couldn't see."

"No, not me . . . not anymore at least, I've changed. You changed me for the better, I think. And it's gonna be you and me for a long time if I have anything to say about it." Boruto grinned.

"You've changed me too. I have the same plan." Kawaki told him, turning his head to meet his gaze directly. "I'm not going to let you go."

Boruto looked up into his grey eyes, the weight of his words embracing him completely. "Kawaki . . ."

"Hm?"

"I . . ." Boruto hesitated for a moment, a thousand thoughts running through his head, but fuck it. Fuck it all. "I love you."

The joint fell from between Kawaki's fingers and he breathed at those three words. Nobody had ever told him that before and he didn't know what to make of it. Did he feel the same way?

"You do?" Kawaki couldn't believe it.

"I do." Boruto promised quietly. "I really do."

The look in those earnest blue eyes did funny things to Kawaki's heart and he realized in that moment more than any other since he'd met Boruto, that he wasn't the same man he was before meeting him. Somehow, this adorable blonde had stolen his heart and Kawaki didn't care. Actually, he was happy about it. Thankful for it. His left hand ran through Boruto's hair until he reached the back and fisted it, forcing his head back.

"I won't let you regret that." Kawaki murmured, tenderly caressing Boruto's lips with his own.


End file.
